On rare occasions, during mating season among sharks, ‘mating scars’ appear on female sharks’ bodies caused by the males holding onto them. The low frequency of sharks bearing such scars indicates that those markers are not part of regular mating efforts. These scars are mostly deeper cuts and punctures, indicating a more forceful motivation such as coercive mating from the male’s side. We discuss scenarios based on mating scars from three Carcharhinid species, describe and explain the arrangement of these bite scars, and consider plausible mating strategies used by males, including coercive mating.

中文翻译：

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鲨鱼中的交配疤痕：强制交配的证据？

在极少数情况下，在鲨鱼的交配季节，雌性鲨鱼的尸体上会出现“交配疤痕”，这是雄性抓住它们造成的。带有这种疤痕的鲨鱼的低频率表明，这些标记不是常规交配努力的一部分。这些疤痕大多是较深的切口和刺孔，表明有更强的动机，例如从雄性一侧强制交配。我们讨论了基于三种真鲨科动物的交配疤痕的情况，描述并解释了这些咬伤疤痕的排列，并考虑了雄性使用的合理交配策略，包括强制交配。