INFANT KILLING IN PRIMATES - A REVIEW OF OBSERVED CASES WITH SPECIFICREFERENCE TO THE SEXUAL SELECTION HYPOTHESIS

Discussion of infant killing in free-ranging primates has focused on t he sexual selection hypothesis developed by Hrdy during the mid-1970s. This hypothesis suggests that infant killing is a form of sexual comp etition whereby an infanticidal male gains a reproductive advantage by selectively killing the offspring of his male rivals. Despite critici sms that the evidence in support of the hypothesis is distorted by mis interpretation of data and observer bias, the sexual selection hypothe sis, bolstered in part by additional reports of infanticide in a varie ty of species, has become entrenched as the primary explanatory hypoth esis for primate infanticide. However, the majority of reliably docume nted instances of infanticide in primates come from a very small numbe r of species, and a careful examination of the specific context of eac h of these episodes fails to support the interpretation of infanticide as a primatewide adaptive complex. Most importantly, the atmosphere o f generalized inter- and intrasexual aggression that surrounds the maj ority of infant killings obscures the evolutionary significance of thi s behavior.