In certain Lake Tanganyika cichlids breeding in empty snail shells, there are two extreme sizes of males: giants and dwarfs. Researchers have analyzed the genomes of these fish and found out how the ...

Tom has a Master's degree in Journalism. His editorial work covers anything from archaeology and the environment to technology and culture. Tom has a Master's degree in Journalism. His editorial work ...

A team of evolutionary biologists from the University of Konstanz, headed by Prof. Dr. Axel Meyer, has discovered the genetic basis for the repeated evolution of colour patterns. The findings about ...

The evolution of new traits with novel functions has always posed a challenge to evolutionary biology. Studying the color markings of cichlid fish, Swiss scientists were now able to show what ...

Male cichlids that are constantly threatened by predators grow faster and postpone the full expression of conspicuous breeding coloration for longer. Thereby, the animals reduce their risk of becoming ...

Difference in body size (or sexual dimorphism) between males and females is common across the animal kingdom. One of the most extreme examples of sexual dimorphism is found in the cichlid fish species ...