Batesian mimicry is a fundamental example of adaptive phenotypic evolution driven by strong natural selection. Given the potentially dramatic impacts of selection on individual fitness, it is important to understand the conditions under which mimicry is maintained versus lost. Although much empirical and theoretical work has been devoted to the maintenance of Batesian mimicry, there are no conc...

We propose that behavioral mimicry is guided by schemas that enable efficient social coordination. If mimicry is schema-driven, then the operation of these schemas should be disrupted if partners behave in counternormative ways – such as mimicking people they generally would not or vice versa – rendering social interaction inefficient and demanding more executive and self-regulatory resources. ...

Mimics closely resemble unrelated species to avoid predation, capture prey or gain access to hosts or reproductive opportunities. However, the classification of mimicry systems into three established evolutionary mechanisms (protection, reproduction and foraging) can be contentious because multiple benefits may be gained by mimics, causing the evolution of such systems to be driven by more than...

The evolution of mimicry is driven by the behaviour of predators. However, there has been little systematic testing of the sensitivity of evolutionary predictions to variations in assumptions about predator learning and forgetting. To test how robust mimicry theory is to such behavioural modifications we combined sets of rules describing ways in which learning and forgetting might operate in ve...

In 1927, Fisher suggested that Müllerian mimicry evolution could be gradual and driven by predator generalization. A competing possibility is the so-called two-step hypothesis, entailing that Müllerian mimicry evolves through major mutational leaps of a less-protected species towards a better-protected, which sets the stage for coevolutionary fine-tuning of mimicry. At present, this hypothesis ...

Mimicry and melanism in Lepidoptera provided the first convincing examples of natural selection in action. Genetic analysis has now shown that, surprisingly, mimicry in Heliconius butterflies and melanism in peppered moths are switched at precisely the same gene: cortex.

Emotional contagion has been explained as arising from embodied simulation. The two most accepted theories of music-induced emotions presume a mechanism internal mimicry: the BRECVEMA framework proposes that melodic aspect music elicits mimicry leading to induction basic in listener, and Multifactorial Process Model observation or imagination motor expressions musicians muscular neural mimicry,...

field collection in nahavand county (hamedan province, iran) revealed 9 blister beetle (col: meloidae) species from three different tribes of subfamily meloinae. in tribe mylabrini, mylabris impressa chevrolat 1837, mylabris schreibersi reiche 1865, mylabris variabilis (pallas, 1781), mylabris guerini chevrolat 1837, lydoceras bilineatus thomas 1897 and croscherichia spp. pardo alcaide identifi...

Facial mimicry and vagal regulation represent two crucial physiological responses to others' facial expressions of emotions. Facial mimicry, defined as the automatic, rapid and congruent electromyographic activation to others' facial expressions, is implicated in empathy, emotional reciprocity and emotions recognition. Vagal regulation, quantified by the computation of Respiratory Sinus Arrhyth...

People spontaneously mimic a variety of behaviors, including emotional facial expressions. Embodied cognition theories suggest that mimicry reflects internal simulation of perceived emotion in order to facilitate its understanding. If so, blocking facial mimicry should impair recognition of expressions, especially of emotions that are simulated using facial musculature. The current research tes...