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Key points
- Male puffer fish work nonstop for a week to construct incredible "crop circle" art to attract the attention of passing females.
- Small male cuttlefish can transform into females in order to deceive their larger male competitors.
- Male peacock spiders break into dances to woo potential mates, but the dancing is rarely effective, research finds.
Every once in a while the internet unearths something worthy of eliciting a universal, singular response of awe. And today, I am sharing with you that thing — the astonishing depths a puffer fish will go to attract a mate.
In the video, which was produced by BBC in 2014, a male Japanese puffer fish works nonstop 24 hours a day for more than a week using only its fins to create a stunning work of sand and shell art, of which the narrator says, “Nowhere else in nature does an animal construct something as complex and perfect as this.”
And why does he construct this masterpiece? To attract the attention of females who happen to pass by, of course.
Smitten females will lay their eggs in the middle of the crop circle art they fancy, as a way to reciprocate their feelings. Then the deal is sealed when the males fertilize her eggs externally.
Researchers don’t know exactly what attracts females to one crop circle art over another, but they do know that this method of flirting is not only beautiful but effective. Perhaps it also contains lessons that might apply to species above the surface as well. After all, there’s a reason why grand romantic gestures have remained quintessential tactics to woo love interests from every decade of romantic comedies to modern-day TikTok "promposals."
While there is likely no suitor quite as indefatigable as the male puffer fish, there is no shortage of other paramours in the animal kingdom who have cultivated their own unique and surprising mating rituals and habits.
For example, researchers found that smaller male cuttlefish transform their appearance into females in order to trick larger male competitors. Because the cuttlefish mating ritual is aggressive with larger males fighting each other, the smaller males cleverly protect themselves by switching to female mode and gain an edge with the real females. DNA fingerprinting showed that the “female mimickers” successfully fertilized females 60 percent of the time, which was an achievement considering females are notoriously picky, rejecting any male advances about 70 percent of the time.
Not only do these males earn points for creativity but they also show the world that being small has its advantages.
Meanwhile, back on land, male peacock spiders also exhibit creativity to make their ladies swoon, although with lesser success. With eight legs a piece, you’d think that spiders would be inherently gifted dancers, but alas, scientists say it isn’t so.
A 2015 study found that upon seeing a female, these tiny male spiders break into a series of dances in an attempt to send actual “good vibrations” to her through the ground. If she shows any interest, then he reveals a colorful flap from his abdominal region and proceeds to strut his stuff wildly.
These dance moves, however, are not a turn on. In fact, out of 64 courtship dances studied, only 16 were liked by the females. In response to bad dancing, some females would turn away the males, while others were more aggressive — either shaking their abdomens at them, or sometimes if they get really annoyed, eating them.
What did the females actually care about? The male’s looks, which were considered twice as important as the dance moves.
Speaking of attraction, when it comes to finding a mate, it’s easy to assume that the most attractive will win. Well, this isn't always the case.
Given the choice between two male mates, a female frog, unsurprisingly, will choose the more attractive one. But, when a third, inferior “decoy” frog is thrown into the mix, she’ll change her mind and choose the less attractive of the initial two.
These were the results of a perplexing 2015 study, where researchers observed the mating behavior of 80 female túngaras frogs. Researchers identified different types of male calls that would vary in appeal to the females. When there were two types of calls present, the female frogs clearly preferred the one with longer, lower frequency. However, when a third, inferior call was introduced, the female ended up choosing the less appealing call from the original two. If this sounds irrational to you, that’s because it is. Oftentimes in complex mating situations, animals don’t have the time to make rational decisions, simply because they risk being attacked by predators or losing out on mating opportunities.
In the human world, too, dating makes the best of us feel irrational at times. And the decoy effect, which can be described as how our opinion on two original options changes when a third, lesser option becomes available, doesn’t help. The decoy effect, which often works subconsciously, pushes us to make decisions based more on immediate feelings than what is actually best or good for us.
It’s also an effective marketing tactic. For example, if you ever intended to buy a small soft drink (when your choices were just medium and a small) but ultimately opted for the large option when you saw that it was available, you’ve fallen for the decoy.
Who knew that love could be just as deceptive, messy, and complicated for animals as it is for us?
Facebook image: LightField Studios/Shutterstock
