Editing Animal weapon (section)

== Usage & Characteristics ==
Agonistic behaviors amongst animals for resources have been studied by many researchers, and specifically the interaction of weapons during these exchanges of behavior.<ref name="Palaoro2022"></ref> Not only the presence of weaponry, but also specific characteristics of the weaponry itself can have an effect on the outcome of competition in determining the winners and losers from an intraspecies competition.<ref name="Emlen2008"></ref> The display of weaponry has been found to be favored in animals that frequently engage in contest as a mechanism to decrease the costs of aggression.<ref name="Emlen2008"></ref>

[[File:Uca leptodactyla in Margarita Island.jpg|thumb|upright=1|A [[fiddler crab]] uses its large claw as both a display ornament for females, and a weapon to directly compete with other males.]]

Most weapons that are studied are utilize to injure other individuals. These include the most famous weapons, such as antlers, horns, and mandibles; conversely, some animals have specialized "weapons" that actually fulfill a defensive role, such as the horned [[weevil]], which have [[wikt:sheath|sheaths]] that can neutralize the horns of other beetles.<ref name="Lane2018"></ref><ref name="Eberhard2000">{{Cite journal |last1=Eberhard |first1=William G. |last2=Garcia-C. |first2=J. Mauricio |last3=Lobo |first3=Jorge |date=2000 |title=Size–specific defensive structures in a horned weevil confirm a classic battle plan: avoid fights with larger opponents |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences |volume=267 |issue=1448 |pages=1129–1134 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2000.1118|pmid=10885518 |pmc=1690650 }}</ref> Some of these weapons can be used to [[Venom|inject chemicals]] into enemies; tentacles and stingers are examples of this phenomenon.<ref name="Lane2018"></ref> Other weapons are used to displace their opponents,<ref name="Palaoro2022"></ref> usually to block burrows or entrances from other individuals. Some [[termites]], for instance, use their heads as plugs to physically impede other termites from invading through the colony entrance.<ref name="Lane2018"></ref> These termites also use their mandibles to displace enemies.<ref name="Matsuura2002">{{Cite journal |last1=Matsuura |first1=Kenji |date=2002 |title=Colony-level stabilization of soldier head width for head-plug defense in the termite Reticulitermes speratus (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) |journal=Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology |volume=51 |issue=2 |pages=172–179 |doi=10.1007/s00265-001-0426-2}}</ref> Finally, many weapons are used for displays, with males using their large physical features to attract females to mate with.<ref name="Lane2018"></ref><ref name="Emlen2008"></ref> Additionally, most organisms display their weapons before fighting as a threat to other individuals.<ref name="Palaoro2022"></ref> In general, displays are considered any behavior that is used to show a species' fighting ability without any physical contact, and the term applies to signalling both potential mates and potential opponents. This behavior allows for rivals to have the chance to assess the weaponry that is present to determine whether to engage in physical agonistic behavior or not.<ref name="Palaoro2022"></ref>

===Female Weaponry===
Since the publication of The Descent of Man and [[On the Origin of Species|The Origin of Species]], research has been heavily focused on weaponry in male animals, potentially leaving out females and their possible mechanisms behind present weaponry.<ref name="Joseph2012">{{Cite journal |last1=Tobias |first1=Joseph A. |last2=Montgomerie |first2=Robert |last3=Lyon |first3=Bruce E. |date=2012-08-19 |title=The evolution of female ornaments and weaponry: social selection, sexual selection and ecological competition |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |volume=367 |issue=1600 |pages=2274–2293 |doi=10.1098/rstb.2011.0280 |issn=0962-8436 |pmc=3391421 |pmid=22777016}}</ref> Presence of weapons in females, and female-female competition has been seen in many species for better fitness of both sexual and social selection.<ref name="Stankowich2009">{{Cite journal |last1=Stankowich |first1=Theodore |last2=Caro |first2=Tim |date=2009 |title=Evolution of Weaponry in Female Bovids |journal=Proceedings: Biological Sciences |volume=276 |issue=1677 |pages=4329–4334 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2009.1256 |jstor=40506066 |pmid=19759035 |pmc=2817105 |issn=0962-8452}}</ref><ref name="Joseph2012"></ref> Social selection, first hypothesized by [[Mary Jane West-Eberhard]], is a broader term that includes both sexual and non sexual behaviors to increase an individual's fitness.<ref name="Joseph2012"></ref> For example, research has suggested that horns present in female [[Bovidae|bovids]], may have evolved from competition for resources such as food.<ref name="Stankowich2009"></ref>