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Costly signaling, also known as Zahavian signaling, is an evolutionary concept that indicates certain traits can evolve not due to survival advantages, but rather for reproductive benefits, despite being burdensome. For instance, the peacock's tail, while making the bird more visible to predators and less capable of flight, serves as an honest signal of the male's fitness to potential mates. This theory emphasizes that traits must be costly to ensure their authenticity; if a signal can be easily mimicked, it loses its value as an honest indicator. Thus, the ability to reliably signal quality becomes crucial in mate selection, where the costs associated with a trait serve to distinguish genuine contenders from pretenders.