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https://theconversation.com/sex-and-power-in-the-animal-kingdom-seven-animals-that-will-make-you-reconsider-what-you-think-you-know-191369>
"It’s easy to assume all animals have a neat dividing line between the sexes
because the differences in appearance between males and females can be so
striking. But the more scientists learn about wildlife, the clearer it is that
nature doesn’t have a rule book.
Most people know that male seahorses become pregnant and give birth. Yet
research is revealing more about animals that defy expectations when it comes
to sex norms.
To understand why some species evolved special traits or appearances you need
to know why the males and females of many species evolved to look so different
to one another. Throughout most of the animal kingdom, females have a finite
number of eggs, whereas males have an infinite number of sperm.
This is known as anisogamy and usually causes males to compete for females
through the evolution of weapons such as antlers in deer, or adornments such as
the beautiful tail of the peacock. Consequently, it is in the interest of
females to be more picky about their mating partners.
These differences in appearance of the sexes evolved through a process called
sexual selection."
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
