Science Advances · 24 July 2026 · From issue 12
In spotted hyenas, inherited social rank made females more unequal in reproductive success than males.
Marta Mosna, Alexandre Courtiol et al., The legacy of privilege: Social inheritance reverses sex differences in reproductive inequality in the spotted hyena, Science Advances.
In spotted hyenas, daughters inherit their mother's social rank. That rank brings real perks in life. Over eight generations, this inheritance made reproductive success more unequal among females than among males. This flipped the usual pattern seen in most animals, where males compete harder and show more unequal success.
The length and depth of the hyena data used to track how rank passes down and shapes reproduction.
One hyena population, 29 years, may not generalize to other animals.
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