this post was submitted on 16 Dec 2025
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Science Memes

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[–] psx_crab@lemmy.zip 81 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Which only mean they aren't a frog nor a pig, they're an entirely new species where the male have a frog-like form and female have a pig-like form.

[–] The_v@lemmy.world 42 points 2 weeks ago

A form of sexual dimorphism. Honestly compared to real examples like the angler fish it's not even that weird.

[–] Deceptichum@quokk.au 34 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (3 children)

Maybe it's a form of xenoparity like Messor ibericus, where one species is giving birth to an entirely separate species alongside its own.

[–] jimmux@programming.dev 14 points 2 weeks ago

I never heard of xenoparity before, this is fascinating.

Supposedly it only evolved about 5 million years ago, and some colonies still rely on external populations? Nature is constantly finding new ways to undermine our attempts to think we know how shit works.

[–] rapchee@lemmy.world 10 points 2 weeks ago
[–] TexasDrunk@lemmy.world 7 points 2 weeks ago

First, thank you for pointing this out. I had to go and fill my brain hole with a bunch of information about this absolutely fascinating discovery. I really thought you were discussing some science fiction concept initially.

Second, what in the actual fuck did I just read?!?

[–] affenlehrer@feddit.org 23 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

We could call them sometime like puppets or Muppets