One species, but so different: male and female animals that are radically different from each other (13 photos)

It would seem that these couples from the fauna of the same species, but males and females are so different from each other that it seems as if between them there is nothing in common. Such an interesting thing is called "sexual dimorphism". It can be expressed not only in the difference in size, but also in color or even in the difference of some parts of the body. Let's take a look at these interesting differences.

White-cheeked crested gibbons





Males and females of this species of primates are very different from each other. coat color. Males are black in color and have funny fluffy white whiskers. Females, on the contrary, have a light warm color.

nyala antelope








In these African antelopes, the male is fairly easy to distinguish from the female. In addition to the banal difference in size and the lack of horns in females, they differ from each other in color. Males are dark brown, while females are much lighter.

Sea Elephant



Elephant seals are easy to distinguish from other members of the family. seals due to their huge nose. But a big nose is a feature males that females do not have.

Siamese fighting fish



In many species of aquarium fish, sexual dimorphism is pronounced bright enough. But it is especially noticeable in the example of the Siamese fighting fish. Not only do males differ from females in color, they also have big luxurious tail.

Grandala or azure bird






Among the birds you can see many examples of a vivid manifestation sexual dimorphism. For example, in an azure bird, females are gray, and males are bright blue.

Red cardinal



This is the same bird that formed the basis of the design of the red bird. from the game Angry Birds. Just look at how tough she is. AND again, the male distinguished himself by brightness, while the female had a bright color only on beak and at the end of the tail and wings.

Wonderful bird of paradise






The wonderful bird of paradise is an example of nature overdoing it. external differences between males and females within the same species. The male is literally a small black hole with shining turquoise eyes. And the female... a completely ordinary outwardly bird of a modest color.

Noble green-red parrot



And this is an example of when nature's fantasy ends, but I still want to do something weird. Deciding to take the easy way she simply painted the females and males in different colors. Males are green and females are red. Scientists have long thought that these are two different species, but relatively recently they had to announce to the world that this was not the case.

Lizard five-banded skink



These lizards are born with a blue tail. But with age, males lose blue on the tail and acquire a reddish color on the head, and females remain the same blue-tailed.

tiger spider



In many spiders, sexual dimorphism is expressed quite strongly. The tiger spider is just one notable example. In most cases the female larger than the male and looks more menacing.