Size does matter in fish world

Size matters in the science of sexual attraction - especially if you are a fish.

Scientists at the Universities of Exeter and Glasgow have found that female green swordtail fish mature more rapidly if they spot a male with a big tail.

Likewise young males retard their sexual development for several months if they spot a better-endowed male, waiting for a time when there is less competition in the mating game.

"This is the first evidence that a species adjusts its rate of sexual maturation in response to visual clues," Craig Walling of Exeter University's school of biosciences said.

"While our study focused on green swordtail fish, it seems unlikely that this attribute is limited to this one species."

Green swordtail fish, a native of North and Central America, are named after the striking growth of the male's tail-fin which makes them look bigger and therefore more attractive to females which do not develop the sword-shaped tail fin.

link

Got to say I hate it when scientists make unsubstantiated observations such as:



You only studied the Green Swordtail Fish, buster. Leave the speculation out of your conclusions.

Sorry about that little rant, I know it's human nature to ponder possibilities but it makes for bad science.

They should definatly study more than one fish.

I agree; they should've studied more than one species of fish.

And in the case of Jake Gyllenhaal, with his nice personality, sense of humor and good looks, he doesn't need a big tail.

http://ashiana.conforums.com/index.cgi

~ Isis2200

yeah they should have studied more then one fish. can someone change the topic title to "size does matter in Green Swordtail Fish world"

As for Jake well all he needs is me to ................[spoiler]I wont say or ill get banned[/spoiler]