Male Mexican mollies grow mustaches to attract mates

(PhysOrg.com) -- Some male Mexican molly fish sport a structure like a mustache on their top lips, which scientists have now discovered are attractive to female mollies and may represent a sexually selected trait.

Real angry birds 'flip the bird' before a fight

Male sparrows are capable of fighting to the death. But a new study shows that they often wave their wings wildly first in an attempt to avoid a dangerous brawl.

A love game: Fish courtship more complex than thought

Monash University researchers have discovered that male Australian desert goby fish are surprisingly strategic when it comes to courtship, adapting their tactics depending on the frequency of their contact with females.

Lustful beetles desire water, not sex

(PhysOrg.com) -- Female seed beetles are known for their promiscuity, a surprising fact given that the males of the species have dangerously sharp spikes on their sex organs. Now a U of T Mississauga team led by an undergraduate ...

Reversal of the black widow myth

The Black Widow spider gets its name from the popular belief that female spiders eat their male suitors after mating. However, a new study has shown that the tendency to consume a potential mate is also true of some types ...

Birds find ways to avoid raising cuckoos' young

Some species of birds reproduce not by rearing their own young, but by handing that task on to adults of other species. Known as brood parasitism, this habit has been most thoroughly researched in the cuckoo. Previous research ...

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