Female
fish are attracted to males that "flirt" with other males, a study
has found.
Scientists
in Germany studied the behaviour of tropical fish Poecilia mexicana, known
as Atlantic mollies.
The
female fish are known to "mate copy" - preferring to mate with males
they have seen interacting sexually with other fish.
Researchers
found that females still took an interest in males when their flirtations were
with the same sex.
Dr
David Bierbach from the University of Frankfurt, Germany, led the research that
is published in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters.
In
the paper, researchers refer to homosexual behaviour in the animal kingdom as a
"conundrum".
"Male
homosexual behaviour can be found in most extant classes across the animal
kingdom, but represents a Darwinian puzzle as same-sex mating should decrease
male reproductive fitness," they wrote.
Continued: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/20665161
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