Anglerfish
The Anglerfish is an extremely difficult specimen to study because they are inhabitants of such deep water where there is a lack of light. Encounters between male and female Anglerfish are very rare. Scientists have discovered a way that these Anglerfish have solved their problem of infrequent meetings with one another. At first, researches found these lumps that looked like additional appendages on the female Anglerfish. Females were the only ones found for quite some time until they realized that these "appendages" were actually male Anglerfish.
Turns out that these male Anglerfish are approximately 40 times smaller than the females. To overcome this problem of little encounters between the male and female in the large, dark sea, these Anglerfish have developed a mating process. The males will bite onto the female when they are found. There is a digestive enzyme that when the male bites the females skin, she will digest his. Over a period of time, the male Anglerfish fuses with the female. Her nutrients will go to the male, who only has his reproductive organs left, through her blood stream which is now his too. Whenever the female is ready to reproduce, she can command the remaining parts of the male gonads to release sperm. Now she can lay her eggs and reproduce.
Anglerfish Video
Posted by Ryan Dulmaine (7)
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglerfish
http://www.thethinkingblog.com/2007/05/unusual-mating-habit-of-anglerfish.html
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This is the most interesting thing I have heard in animal behavior and communication thus far. This is absolutely extraordinary. I have never heard of anything in nature of this sort. The first question that shot to my mind was how did this possibly evolve. This type of behavior outlines how animals behave for the sole purpose to reproduce and pass on genes. Do you know of any other kinds of animals that do this similar behavior?
ReplyDeletePosted by Abbie Saranteas
This is incredible. I did not know that these fish were so unique. The females must have a difficult time finding the males in such deep, dark depths of the ocean. Many species' males are smaller than the females, but 40 times is just amazing. Do you know if any other species mate like this?
ReplyDeletePosted by Michael Shi
This is pretty cool but my question is , does the male get released after reproduction. If the only organ that is left on the male fish are the gonads, then how are they able to live without other viable organs. Also since all the nutrients that the males are given are from the female, can they survive after copulation?
ReplyDeleteposted by Jobin
This is extraordinary. I'm assuming that once a couple mate they mate for life, correct? What happens if the male fish were to die before the female? Would this be possible?
ReplyDeletePosted by Emily Nobrega
This is very interesting. It's amazing that this primitive form of reproduction has been naturally selected and that the fish as not adopted a better adaptation to this problem.
ReplyDeletePosted by Andrew Ryan
Ew! That sounds like something out of a science fiction movie! i wonder what the sex ratio is within this species- are there many more males than females, since males are so expendable? Also, I wonder how many males will accumulate on a single female, since the video seemed to imply that females collected multiple males? I wonder how long it takes for the male to fuse with the female- and if he is cognizant throughout this process- it must be incredibly uncomfortable! Obviously at some point he must lose consciousness, when he has become with the female and all that is left is his gonads.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like a grim life...
Posted by Johanna Brophy
Wow, the males in nature have it rough. I did not know that angler fish were this advanced with their mating. I believed that had some sort of system where they laid their eggs and the eggs "glowed" to attract the males to fertilize them. Or this way just an imagination I had, hehe. Thank you for informing me.
ReplyDeletePosted by: Em Arsenault