PARIS (AFP) â A skinny little fish called the pipefish is high on the list of wildlife oddities, for the male of the species is the one which gets pregnant.
The fish is a close cousin of the seahorse and sea dragon, which also carry developing embryos in a unique organ called a brood pouch into which the female deposits her eggs during mating.
The male pipefish can carry between five and 40 offspring in its transparent pouch, and nurtures them to term after a pregnancy lasting between 12 and 14 days.
But a new study shows that the pipefish is more than a piscatorial gender-bender.
It also chooses which of the brood survives, on the basis of the mother's attractiveness.
Full story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100317/sc_afp/scienceanimalspipefish
The fish is a close cousin of the seahorse and sea dragon, which also carry developing embryos in a unique organ called a brood pouch into which the female deposits her eggs during mating.
The male pipefish can carry between five and 40 offspring in its transparent pouch, and nurtures them to term after a pregnancy lasting between 12 and 14 days.
But a new study shows that the pipefish is more than a piscatorial gender-bender.
It also chooses which of the brood survives, on the basis of the mother's attractiveness.
Full story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100317/sc_afp/scienceanimalspipefish
