Why Female Water Buffalo Have Horns but Impala Do Not?
Thursday, September 17, 2009 - 18:07
in Biology & Nature
(PhysOrg.com) -- The reason some female hoofed animals have horns while others do not has long puzzled evolutionary biologists, even the great Charles Darwin. But now a survey of 117 bovid species led by Ted Stankowich, professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, suggests an answer: Females that can`t readily hide in protective cover and those who must defend a feeding territory are more likely to have horns than those who live in protective habitat or don`t defend a territory.