These Anglerfish Are Sexual Parasites That Die Without Their Lovers
When a male anglerfish finds a female in the deep sea, he won't ever let her go – because he can't. Read More: Anglerfish https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/group/anglerfish/...
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This is a female anglerfish and this is her mate. And these are her other mates. They are all locked lovers for life because… well… the males have no choice. There are several hundred species of anglerfish, and a some suborders show extreme sexual dimorphism - meaning females can be up to 60 times longer and half a million times heavier than males. Their size difference makes them ideal candidates for a bizarre phenomenon known as sexual parasitism. Basically, males need females to survive and females need males to reproduce. But in the vast darkness and depths of the open ocean, finding each other can be an almost impossible task. To stand a chance, male anglerfish need to use their disproportionally large nostrils to track the pheromonal cues of their...
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This is a female anglerfish and this is her mate. And these are her other mates. They are all locked lovers for life because… well… the males have no choice. There are several hundred species of anglerfish, and a some suborders show extreme sexual dimorphism - meaning females can be up to 60 times longer and half a million times heavier than males. Their size difference makes them ideal candidates for a bizarre phenomenon known as sexual parasitism. Basically, males need females to survive and females need males to reproduce. But in the vast darkness and depths of the open ocean, finding each other can be an almost impossible task. To stand a chance, male anglerfish need to use their disproportionally large nostrils to track the pheromonal cues of their...
