Social behaviour in an Australian velvet worm, Euperipatoides rowelli (Onychophora: Peripatopsidae)

摘要: Onychophora lead a cryptic lifestyle as predators in decaying logs and leaf litter. Hence, very little is known about their behaviour. They are generally assumed to possess only limited behavioural repertoire, even though surprisingly evolved brain suggests otherwise. Our studies on the Australian species Euperipatoides rowelli show for first time that onychophorans indeed capable of complex individuals form aggregations up 15 females, males young. These not random assemblages, but close social groups organized hierarchy based female dominance. Food hunted collectively, dominant group feeds alone, before other Hierarchy within established by aggressive-dominant passive-subordinate behaviours, latter leading tolerance body contact aggregation. from foreign groups, i.e. different logs, met with intense aggression, rarely aggregate. The reasons this aggression clear, we suggest its origins lie kin recognition. evolution behaviour discussed respect ecology, population genetics phylogeny.