🌿 Naturepublished 2w ago
Male anglerfish fuse permanently into their mates' bodies
In the pitch-black abyss, finding a mate is so difficult that male ceratioid anglerfish take extreme measures. Far smaller than females, a male bites into a female's flank and releases enzymes that dissolve his own lips and her skin. Their blood vessels fuse into a shared circulatory system. Over time, the male loses his eyes, gut, and fins, living out the rest of his life as a permanent, blood-fed sperm provider.
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