![]() Of the 300+ species around 160 live in the deep ocean, spending their entire lives in complete darkness. There are over 300 known species of anglerfish, belonging to the genus Lophiiformes, all of which are extremely varied in size, shape and overall appearance. One such example is the sexual parasitism of deep-sea anglerfish, where the much smaller males seek out, bite and then permanently fuse to females, where they spend the rest of their lives producing sperm for their egg laying hosts. As a result just about any sexual scenario you could possibly imagine probably exists somewhere on earth, even those you might not want to think of. Yet it is also one of the most diverse and fascinating behaviours throughout the natural world, because no species does it quite the same. It is the driving force of evolution by natural selection and without it none of us would be here today. Sexual reproduction is one of the most important biological processes in the natural world, the combination of genetic material between two separate individuals to create entirely unique offspring. ![]() ![]() A deep-sea anglerfish lies in wait for any fish who fall prey to their famous lure However as off-putting as this may sound, it is actually a remarkably effective strategy. Deep-sea anglerfish have one of the most bizarre and disturbing mating behaviours in the animal kingdom, known as sexual parasitism, where dwarf males bite into and then permanently fuse bodies with larger females.
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