Current Zoology最新文献

{"title":"Ecological and behavioral dimensions of coexistence in two understory babblers in Subtropical China.","authors":"Zhengzhen Wang, Fangyuan Liu, Wei Yang, Fasheng Zou","doi":"10.1093/cz/zoaf026","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoaf026","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Species coexistence is pivotal for ecological balance and is shaped by resource dynamics and evolutionary processes. It is generally believed that a certain degree of niche overlap is beneficial for the integrity and efficiency of mixed-species foraging flocks (MSFs) in birds, whereas the coexistence of species requires niche divergence as a fundamental prerequisite. To navigate the paradox of coexistence against the backdrop of MSFs is crucial for understanding avian biodiversity. Here, we took the angle from home ranges to address this question. VHF telemetry tracking was conducted on two widely coexisting understory birds of the mixed-species flocks, the David's fulvetta (<i>Alcippe davidi</i>) and the Streak-breasted scimitar babbler (<i>Pomatorhinus ruficollis</i>) in subtropical Central China to investigate their spatial interactions during breeding season. Our research revealed significantly greater intraspecific home range overlap (0.376) in the fulvettas than in the scimitar babblers (0.213), which suggests differentiation in intraspecies gregariousness. Further scrutiny of habitat preferences revealed that scimitar babblers had significantly high tolerances to barren lands and croplands. Both species maintained similar home range sizes and foraging timings and paces. Our research underscores the importance of intrinsic gregariousness and convergent land cover type preferences in MSFs albeit other diverging characteristics in the breeding season.</p>","PeriodicalId":50599,"journal":{"name":"Current Zoology","volume":"72 1","pages":"81-94"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13045825/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147624681","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Experimental assessment of the predation pressure by the exotic flatworm <i>Obama nungara</i> in its introduced range.","authors":"Shanèze Noël, Yoan Fourcade, Virginie Roy, Agnès Gigon, Lise Dupont","doi":"10.1093/cz/zoaf025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoaf025","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Land planarians are carnivorous predators that feed mainly on soil macrofauna such as earthworms, gastropods, and other land planarians. Several land planarian species have become invasive worldwide and pose a threat to soil biodiversity. Among them, <i>Obama nungara</i> is one of the most abundant invasive species found in France. The aim of this study was to investigate the predation frequency, growth rate, and preferential predation of <i>O. nungara</i> using an experimental approach. <i>O. nungara</i>'s predation was tested on 8 prey species found in its French-introduced area. Two types of experiments were carried out: single experiments, where one <i>O. nungara</i> was offered 3 prey items of the same species and mixed experiments, where one <i>O. nungara</i> was offered 3 prey items of different species at the same time. We showed that <i>O. nungara</i> feeds equally on earthworms, snails, and slugs and that they can also prey on another introduced land flatworm, native to Australia: <i>Caenoplana variegata</i>. This ability to prey on a wide variety of native prey and to thrive on a mixed or single diet demonstrates its opportunistic feeding behavior, a likely predominant factor in <i>O. nungara</i>'s invasiveness. In addition, long-term observations of <i>O. nungara</i> specimens revealed that they can live up to 10 months, are able to shrink to survive starvation, and can produce egg capsules after several weeks in isolation, which may also positively influence their invasion success.</p>","PeriodicalId":50599,"journal":{"name":"Current Zoology","volume":"72 1","pages":"69-80"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13045824/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147624741","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"DNA metabarcoding analysis of the North China and Amur Leopards' feeding habits.","authors":"Hailong Dou, Wenjing Liu, Limin Feng, Haitao Yang","doi":"10.1093/cz/zoaf027","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoaf027","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Leopards <i>Panthera pardus</i> are top predators that play a crucial role in maintaining ecosystem balance and stability by exerting top-down control on prey species populations through direct predation. Despite their wide distribution, in recent years leopard populations have become endangered in many regions due to increasing anthropogenic activity. Studying the feeding habits of endangered species provides insight into their survival from the perspective of their trophic niche and can help identify factors contributing to their decline, aiding in the development of targeted conservation strategies. In this study, the North China leopard (<i>P. p. japonensis</i>) and Amur leopard (<i>P. p. orientalis</i>) were selected as the study objects. A total of 97 fecal samples were collected throughout their typical habitats, 83 of which were confirmed as originating from leopards using molecular identification. DNA metabarcoding identified 13 prey species for the North China leopard and 15 for the Amur leopard, with small- and medium-sized prey (< 37 kg) comprising over 75% of biomass intake. Among all the prey species, roe deer (<i>Capreolus pygargus</i>) provided the highest biomass contribution-41.69% for the North China leopard and 29.2% for the Amur leopard. In addition, the frequent occurrence of domestic dogs (<i>Canis familiaris</i>) in their diet (> 5.8%) highlights the impact of anthropogenic activities on leopard feeding habits. To support leopard conservation, it is recommended to protect all prey species within reserves and reduce anthropogenic interference in these habitats.</p>","PeriodicalId":50599,"journal":{"name":"Current Zoology","volume":"72 1","pages":"95-105"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13045831/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147624728","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Drivers of taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity of waterbirds in urban wetlands.","authors":"Xingmin Chen, Yang Zhang, Shuo Zhang, Yanping Wang","doi":"10.1093/cz/zoaf024","DOIUrl":"10.1093/cz/zoaf024","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Urban wetlands are considered as \"habitat islands\" within the urban matrix that contribute to species conservation. Waterbirds are sensitive pollution indicators in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and their diversity in urban wetlands reflects the response of wildlife to urbanization. However, very few studies have investigated seasonal differences in the multidimensional diversity of waterbirds in urbanized landscapes. In this study, we analyzed various wetland parameters that could potentially affect the seasonal variations in multidimensional diversity of waterbirds in Nanjing, China. We surveyed waterbirds in 29 urban wetlands using the point count method during breeding and non-breeding seasons from November 2022 to June 2023. We then employed multiple linear regressions and information-theoretic approaches to investigate the impact of wetland characteristics on waterbird diversity. We found that water body area and buffer zone connectivity consistently emerged as positive factors affecting waterbird taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity across seasons. Conversely, the urbanization synthetic index was negatively correlated with waterbird diversity only during the breeding season. Regarding functional diversity, we found that the positive correlation between buffer zone connectivity and waterbird diversity was specific to the breeding season. Therefore, for effective conservation of waterbird diversity in our system, wetland planning should prioritize expanding wetland water body areas, enhancing wetland connectivity, minimizing human disturbance during the breeding season, and implementing ecological restoration measures in urbanized wetlands to mitigate adverse effects of urbanization.</p>","PeriodicalId":50599,"journal":{"name":"Current Zoology","volume":"71 6","pages":"801-810"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12742391/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145851332","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"How does urbanization shape shell phenotype, behavior, and parasite prevalence in the snail <i>Cornu aspersum</i>?","authors":"Maxime Dahirel, Youna de Tombeur, Claudia Gérard, Armelle Ansart","doi":"10.1093/cz/zoaf022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoaf022","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Urbanization is a complex and multivariate environmental change, leading to habitat fragmentation and loss, changes in local climate, soil imperviousness, pollution, etc. This is likely to exert pressures simultaneously on various dimensions of organisms' multivariate phenotypes, leading to trait shifts with potential ecological consequences. However, responses to urbanization are often studied one (type of) trait at a time. In this context, we studied how, in the brown garden snail <i>Cornu aspersum</i>, shell phenotype (shell size and color/reflectance), behavior (food intake, mobility), and metazoan parasite prevalence respond to urbanization. Within an urbanization gradient spanning the French city of Rennes, we found that snails from more urbanized sites closer to the urban center were smaller, whereas urbanization had no detectable effect on shell reflectance, parasite prevalence, or behavior. Larger snails and snails with paler shells were more likely to be infected by trematode metacercariae and sexually transmitted nematodes (<i>Nemhelix bakeri</i>), respectively. Snails harboring trematode sporocysts ate typically less, while those infected by <i>N. bakeri</i> moved more slowly. We discuss the decrease of snail size along the urbanization gradient in relation to the Urban Heat Island effect and the potential decrease of resource quality and availability in urban sites. The absence of detectable effects of urbanization on shell reflectance, mobility, and parasite prevalence may be due to scale mismatches between how urbanization is measured and how snails experience microhabitats. We propose further experimental and field studies to decipher interactions between urbanization effects, shell phenotype, life-history traits, and parasitism.</p>","PeriodicalId":50599,"journal":{"name":"Current Zoology","volume":"72 1","pages":"54-68"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13045833/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147624487","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Review of the ecological aspects of sympatric species <i>Octopus americanus</i> and <i>Octopus insularis</i> (Cephalopoda: Octopodidae) in the Western Atlantic.","authors":"Mariana Osório Côrtes, Bruna Baleeiro Dos Santos, Renato Hajenius Aché de Freitas, C E O'Brien, Tatiana Silva Leite","doi":"10.1093/cz/zoaf023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoaf023","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Due to similarities in morphology and overlapping distribution, <i>Octopus americanus</i> and <i>O. insularis</i> (both formerly designated as <i>O. vulgaris</i>) are now considered to be cryptic species inhabiting the western Atlantic, while <i>O. vulgaris</i> inhabits the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean. The historical lack of distinction made between <i>O. americanus</i> and <i>O. insularis</i> in the scientific literature and fisheries statistics, and persisting confusion regarding the identity and basic biological traits of each species, has hindered proper management of octopus fisheries in the western Atlantic. We attempt to rectify this by identifying the habitat preferences (environmental and biological) of each species from published literature. To this purpose, we compiled 134 studies about <i>O. americanus</i>, <i>O. insularis,</i> and \"<i>O. vulgaris</i>\" from the western Atlantic and re-identified the species based on the geographic area of occurrence, size, and weight of mature individuals, and visually identifiable morphological and body pattern characteristics. Analysis revealed that <i>O. americanus</i> occurs in temperate waters (15-28 °C), from 0 to 200 m on rocky shores, as well as on sand or shell beds. By contrast, <i>O. insularis</i> occurs from 0 to 50 m in tropical waters with a mean temperature of 23-32 °C, mainly in rocky areas and on coral reefs, and generally targets a greater diversity of prey. The results show that these two species inhabit distinct habitats, which can aid in species identification and in the determination of priority areas for their conservation.</p>","PeriodicalId":50599,"journal":{"name":"Current Zoology","volume":"72 1","pages":"1-13"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13045820/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147624503","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Multidimensional analyses of reptile assemblages: insights from phylogenetic, functional, and taxonomic diversity.","authors":"Nadia Vicenzi, Agustina Novillo, Jaiber J Solano-Iguaran, Leonardo D Bacigalupe","doi":"10.1093/cz/zoaf021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoaf021","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Multidimensional biodiversity approaches provide a framework for understanding the ecological and evolutionary processes that shape communities through time and space. In this study, we assess the spatial variation in taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity of reptile assemblages along Chile's latitudinal gradient to gain insight into the primary assembly processes structuring these communities. We compiled data on distribution, phylogeny, and functional traits and estimated alpha diversity indices of taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional dimensions. We then assessed the assembly process under the stress dominance hypothesis (SDH), using null models to test whether the observed phylogenetic and functional diversity deviated from random patterns, suggesting the influence of habitat filtering or interspecific competition. We also examined environmental influences on diversity metrics. Our results show that phylogenetic diversity is a poor proxy for functional diversity, highlighting the importance of multidimensional approaches to understanding the drivers of assemblage composition and structure. In support of the SDH, habitat filtering influenced reptile assemblages in arid and cold environments, whereas interspecific competition influenced the assemblages in milder environments, such as the Mediterranean region and Valdivian forests. Furthermore, the spatial mismatch between diversity metrics allowed us to explore how assemblage composition and structure are influenced by local environmental heterogeneity, biogeographic history, and adaptive radiations of squamate reptiles. Environmental variables, particularly temperature, primary productivity, and topographic complexity, emerged as strong predictors of reptile diversity. Our study highlights the importance of integrating species' evolutionary history and ecological traits with taxonomic richness to improve our understanding of community composition, ecosystem functioning, history, and resilience.</p>","PeriodicalId":50599,"journal":{"name":"Current Zoology","volume":"72 1","pages":"41-53"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13045830/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147624496","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Yarkand hare epidermal growth factor receptor improves the survival and antioxidant capacity of HeLa cells under stress.","authors":"Yuge Cui, Mengqi Xu, Mingchang Duan, Jinshan Wu, Yanyu Zhou, Wenjuan Shan","doi":"10.1093/cz/zoaf020","DOIUrl":"10.1093/cz/zoaf020","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is one of the most important tyrosine kinase receptor families, which plays a pivotal role in cell signaling transduction and physiological processes. Studies on the <i>EGFR</i> gene in humans and other species have demonstrated its pivotal role in regulating the sodium ion balance and mediating sodium and water reabsorption in the kidney's proximal tubules. However, the impact of <i>EGFR</i> gene in how the Yarkand hare (<i>Lepus yarkandensis</i>) adapts to extreme environmental habitat remains unclear. The Yarkand hare is a desert-dwelling animal with multiple adaptations to cope with drought. Given the important physiological function of <i>EGFR</i> gene, we strived to understand its role in arid environment and explore the molecular mechanism of drought tolerance in the Yarkand hare. We first performed segmental cloning of the CDS of the Yarkand hare <i>EGFR</i> gene. Then, we constructed the phylogenetic tree of the Yarkand hare's <i>EGFR</i> gene and compared it with that of other species. The results showed that the Yarkand hare was most closely related to the Tolai hare (<i>Lepus tolai</i>). Through quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), we discovered that <i>EGFR</i> expression in the kidneys of the Yarkand hare was higher than in the allopatric Tolai hare from non-arid areas. Therefore, we hypothesized that <i>EGFR</i> gene overexpression in the kidney of the Yarkand hare may play a crucial role in drought adaptability. Subsequently, we inserted CDS of <i>EGFR</i> gene into a pcDNA3.1-EGFP expression vector to construct recombinant plasmid, which was transfected into HeLa cells and overexpressed. RT-qPCR demonstrated a notable and statistically significant increase in <i>EGFR</i> mRNA expression and western blot proved stable expression of this protein in HeLa cells. Through cell experiments, <i>EGFR</i> gene overexpression markedly enhanced the survival of Hela cells subjected to NaCl, H₂O₂, and heat stresses, increased superoxide dismutase activity, and decreased malondialdehyde content. In conclusion, these findings preliminarily suggest that EGFR might help the Yarkand hare adapt to extreme environmental conditions. EGFR manipulation <i>in vivo</i> could be a promising strategy to enhance the resilience of animals to extreme conditions.</p>","PeriodicalId":50599,"journal":{"name":"Current Zoology","volume":"71 3","pages":"404-407"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12227414/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144576870","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Dietary drivers of gut microbiota diversity and function in wildlife of Wolong Nature Reserve: a metagenomic study.","authors":"Feiyun Huang, Xiaogang Shi, Peng Chen, Qiang Hu, Yongqi Zhao, Zhoulong Chen, Wen Ma, Qihao Tan, Xi Feng, Xiuyue Zhang","doi":"10.1093/cz/zoaf018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoaf018","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>While diet is known to regulate the composition, function, and diversity of the human gut microbiome, its effects on wildlife remain understudied. Here, noninvasive sampling methods were first used to conduct metagenomic analyses of the gut microbiomes of 10 protected wild animals in the Wolong Nature Reserve. There were significant differences in microbiota composition and function between herbivores and carnivores. Herbivores exhibited higher microbial diversity and evenness (Shannon and Pielou indices), with Bacillota and <i>Acinetobacter</i> predominating, whereas carnivores were enriched in Pseudomonadota and <i>Escherichia</i>. Cellulose-degrading bacterium <i>Ruminococcus champanellensis</i> was abundant in herbivores, while <i>Rhodococcus</i> and <i>Pediococcus</i>, which were associated with toxin degradation and pathogen inhibition, were more prevalent in carnivores. Carnivores showed higher lipid metabolism and protein degradation, as evidenced by the enrichment of leucyl aminopeptidase and oligopeptidase B, while herbivores demonstrated superior cellulose and starch digestion, characterized by the enrichment of cellulose 1,4-beta-cellobiosidase. Stochastic processes shaped gut microbiome assembly, especially in herbivores. Potential health risks from pathogens such as <i>Escherichia</i> and <i>Listeria</i> were identified, and <i>Escherichia</i> abundance was positively correlated with niche width. Furthermore, the findings suggest that high-altitude environments may promote the persistence and spread of pathogens. Overall, our findings underscore the intricate linkages between diet, gut microbiota composition, assembly processes, and host ecology in protected wildlife, address a key knowledge gap, and provide important theoretical and practical insights for ecological conservation, species restoration, and environmental management.</p>","PeriodicalId":50599,"journal":{"name":"Current Zoology","volume":"72 1","pages":"14-29"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13045829/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147624591","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Are <i>Sepsis</i> flies Batesian mimics of ants?","authors":"Lenka Baranovičová, Stano Pekár","doi":"10.1093/cz/zoaf019","DOIUrl":"10.1093/cz/zoaf019","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Myrmecomorphy is the most prevalent type of Batesian mimicry among arthropods. Some species of the fly family Sepsidae also bear resemblance to ants. We examined whether the black scavenger fly, <i>Sepsis thoracica,</i> bears a phenotypic resemblance to the abundant ant <i>Lasius niger</i> (workers and males), and whether this resemblance protects it from predation by the syntopic wolf spider <i>Pardosa agrestis</i>. We compared the motion, body shape, size, and coloration traits of <i>S. thoracica</i> to <i>Lasius</i> workers and males, as well as to <i>Drosophila hydei</i>, a non-mimetic fly. Overall, <i>S. thoracica</i> resembled <i>Lasius</i> ant males in motion and body shape, <i>D. hydei</i> in size, and <i>Lasius</i> workers in coloration. Visual models of spider and avian predators revealed that in terms of luminance, <i>S. thoracica</i> was indistinguishable from ant males but different from <i>D. hydei</i>. In predation experiments, <i>S. thoracica</i> was preyed upon less frequently by spiders than <i>D. hydei</i>, and at a frequency similar to ant males. The low consumption frequency of <i>S. thoracica</i> was presumably in part due to the release of defensive chemicals. We conclude that it is an inaccurate Batesian mimic of several <i>Lasius</i> species. This paper brings the first empirical evidence of myrmecomorphy in flies.</p>","PeriodicalId":50599,"journal":{"name":"Current Zoology","volume":"72 1","pages":"30-40"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13045822/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147624574","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}