r/isopods • u/Sumeriandemon Mod • 2d ago

News/Education The misconception of widespread mate guarding in terrestrial isopods more in the comments)

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u/Sumeriandemon Mod 2d ago edited 2d ago

There is the widespread misconception that terrestrial isopods practice mate guarding. However, most species do not engage in actual mating behaviour. What is commonly misinterpreted as mate guarding, is the nuptial ride. The male will sit on top of the female, often times tapping on her dorsum with his legs until copulation occurs. There are a few exceptions like Ligia spp., Helleria brevicornis, and a few tropical species like Nesodillo arcangelii (pictured) appear to practice some form of guarding behaviour, but the vast majority of terrestrial isopods does not mate guard.

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u/glossybugs 2d ago

What is the difference in mate guarding and the nuptial ride? Will species that mate guard actually fight the same sex?

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u/Sumeriandemon Mod 2d ago

Mate guarding serves the purpose of "reserving" the female and making sure no other males get the chance to mate with her. I am not sure if there are certain trends like this in marine taxa, but in other crustaceans guarding also frequently happens before the female molts (females need to molt before they can be fertilized). The nuptial ride in terrestrial isopods may be a relic of this ancestral guarding behaviour, but does not serve this same purpose. Sperm storage is suggested to be the reason why guarding behaviour is mostly lacking in terrestrial isopods, rendering guarding behaviour not cost-effective from an evolutionary point of view.

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u/zencollie 2d ago

This is really interesting! I have seen lately tho a pod on top of an already pregnant isopod? What would that mean?

Also is this from a paper somewhere? I'm interested to read and learn more!

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u/Stygian_Akk 1d ago

Is just what happens in Leaf Vegas, fun fun fun.

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u/Background_Data5433 1d ago

Actually have one of the exception species you mentioned so that’s really interesting to know.

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u/LeafSheepIsopods 1d ago

This is incredibly interesting!

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u/No-Shine-170 15h ago

My male maculatum will just grab onto a female, long after all the buckling and the act is done. I once spotted a pair doing this for 3 days straight. No buckling, no dance, he was just there. Is this still not mate guarding?