Toward an integrated understanding of animal weapons

Animals resolve conflict using an astonishing array of weapons-from electric fields and sonic shock waves to deadly venom and high-impact strikes. Yet, most weapon research has been narrowly focused, for example, only considering mechanical weapons under sexual selection. Furthermore, few studies have examined how weapons are integrated into animal phenotypes. For these reasons, it is not surprising that major questions remain about why weapons have evolved such extraordinary diversity in form and function. By synthesizing insights across weapon modalities and research traditions, we identify key themes for future research on animal weapons and discuss several ways in which research into animal weapons can provide broad insights into evolutionary processes.

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Publication Details

Journal
Trends in Ecology & Evolution
Published
2026-04-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2026.03.007
Primary Topic
Forensic and Genetic Research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Toward an integrated understanding of animal weapons

David Labonte, Douglas J. Emlen, Ummat Somjee, Romain Boisseau et al.
Trends in Ecology & Evolution
Forensic and Genetic Research
article

Toward an integrated understanding of animal weapons

David Labonte, Douglas J. Emlen, Ummat Somjee, Romain Boisseau, Christine W. Miller, Alexandre V. Palaoro, Christina J. Painting, Michael J. Ryan, Allen J. Moore, Sarah Lane, Dominic L. Cram, Camille Thomas-Bulle, Nicole Lopez, Sophia Fitzgerald
article en

Abstract

Animals resolve conflict using an astonishing array of weapons-from electric fields and sonic shock waves to deadly venom and high-impact strikes. Yet, most weapon research has been narrowly focused, for example, only considering mechanical weapons under sexual selection. Furthermore, few studies have examined how weapons are integrated into animal phenotypes. For these reasons, it is not surprising that major questions remain about why weapons have evolved such extraordinary diversity in form and function. By synthesizing insights across weapon modalities and research traditions, we identify key themes for future research on animal weapons and discuss several ways in which research into animal weapons can provide broad insights into evolutionary processes.

Trends in Ecology & Evolution
University of East Anglia (GB), University of Georgia (US), University of Cambridge (GB), Imperial College London (GB), University of Waikato (NZ), Universidade Federal do Paraná (BR), University of Montana (US), The University of Texas at Austin (US), University of Plymouth (GB), University of Lausanne (CH)
Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Division of Integrative Organismal Systems
Openalex Percentile: Top 19%
Forensic and Genetic Research
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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