ColinD
Well-known member
Ok, now I've got your attention, here's something I haven't seen mentioned before, but which I've wondered about for a while. Why is it that when it comes to predators, the females are often larger than the males?
Here's a few examples:
1) in the majority of bird species the male is larger, but bird of prey females are larger than bird of prey males.
2) In the majority of mammals, males are bigger than females, but female big cats are bigger than males.
3) In fish, the majority of males are bigger than females, but female sharks and Pike are bigger than males.
4) female spiders are bigger than males.
5) according to Walking with Dinosaurs, female Tyranosaurus Rex was bigger than males.
I have deliberately chosen a diverse selection of species to emphasis the point. There are other examples I could give.
I suppose it doesn't always hold true, and I'm sure somebody can find a flaw in my arguement, but it almost seems that if the species is essentially a vegetarian then the males are bigger, but if it's EXCLUSIVELY a meat eater, then the female is bigger. Anybody got any comments on this, or have an explanation of why it should be?
Colin
Here's a few examples:
1) in the majority of bird species the male is larger, but bird of prey females are larger than bird of prey males.
2) In the majority of mammals, males are bigger than females, but female big cats are bigger than males.
3) In fish, the majority of males are bigger than females, but female sharks and Pike are bigger than males.
4) female spiders are bigger than males.
5) according to Walking with Dinosaurs, female Tyranosaurus Rex was bigger than males.
I have deliberately chosen a diverse selection of species to emphasis the point. There are other examples I could give.
I suppose it doesn't always hold true, and I'm sure somebody can find a flaw in my arguement, but it almost seems that if the species is essentially a vegetarian then the males are bigger, but if it's EXCLUSIVELY a meat eater, then the female is bigger. Anybody got any comments on this, or have an explanation of why it should be?
Colin