Ajfk. Craig et Mh. Villet, SEXUAL DIMORPHISM AND TAIL-LENGTH IN WIDOWBIRDS AND BISHOPBIRDS (PLOCEIDAE, EUPLECTES SPP) - A REASSESSMENT, Ibis, 140(1), 1998, pp. 137-143
No evidence for sexual selection in the evolution of tail-length or wi
ng-length in widowbirds and bishopbirds (genus Euplectes) was found wh
en the methods used by previous authors were applied to a larger set o
f data, Nuptial tail-length dimorphism scaled with body size dimorphis
m except in Euplectes progne, and interpopulation variation in tail-le
ngth could be explained by genetic drift alone. Wing-length appears to
be under stabilizing selection and scales allometrically with body si
ze, with no relation to tail-length unless E. progne is included in th
e analysis.