Imagine a scenario in which there were five different kinds of men, each of which looked and behaved drastically differently. How would the women of the world choose between all these eligible bachelors? According to a new study in BMC Evolutionary Biology, this complicated situation is a way of life for the South American freshwater fish Poecilia parae.

Male P. parae come in five genetically determined varieties: yellow, blue, red, parae (which have vertical stripes), and immaculata (which are very drab). Parae males are large and antagonistic, while immaculata males are small and meek. Red, yellow, and blue males are all medium-sized. In this species, females ultimately have the choice of which male to mate with.

Read the comments on this post

Read the original, in all its glory, right here:
For female fish, a choice between beauty, brawn, and brains