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Chafing in fishes: occurrence, ontogeny, function and evolution

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Modal action patterns used in maintenance behavior have often been included in animals' communication repertoires during evolution, yet for fish neither the occurrence nor subsequent ritualization of maintenance behavior has been demonstrated. We review the literature and show that one maintenance behavior, the chafe, occurs in at least 30 families of fish. The chafe thus appears to offer a fruitful tool for the phylogenetic analysis of behavior of fish. We show that chafing in Etroplus maculatus and Xiphophorus helleri functions to remove sources of irritation from their skin. We also show that during ontogeny and when in social groups the frequency of chafing does not change with age in E. maculatus and E. suratensis. Etroplus suratensis have about twice the body surface and chafe twice as often as E. maculatus. Chafe-like behavior in Etroplus is observed during ontogeny when young glance on their parents' body. Young E. maculatus without parents present chafe more frequently than young with parents present suggesting that chafing on the substrate may substitute for parent contacting. Chafing is also included in adult behavior where it occurs during pair-formation, nest relief behavior and as an interspecific signal performed by the cleaner E. maculatus upon the host E. suratensis. The maintenance chafe and glance upon the parent both occur rapidly while the chafe performed during pair-formation is slow suggesting a degree of ritualization.

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  1. Department of Biology, Hartwick College, Oneonta, NY, 13820, USA

    Richard L. Wyman & Marilyn F. Walters-Wyman

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  1. Richard L. Wyman
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  2. Marilyn F. Walters-Wyman
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Wyman, R.L., Walters-Wyman, M.F. Chafing in fishes: occurrence, ontogeny, function and evolution. Environ Biol Fish 12, 281–289 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00005458

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00005458

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