Odd Couples

Extraordinary Differences between the Sexes in the Animal Kingdom

Daphne J. Fairbairn

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN:
  9780691169781
  9780691141961
• eBook ISBN:
  9781400847600
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Biology
• Index: Biological Sciences

The remarkable and unique ways that male and female animals play out gender roles in nature

While we joke that men are from Mars and women are from Venus, our gender differences can't compare to those of many other animals. For instance, the male garden spider spontaneously dies after mating with a female more than fifty times his size. And male blanket octopuses employ a copulatory arm longer than their own bodies to mate with females that outweigh them by four orders of magnitude. Why do these gender gulfs exist?

Introducing readers to important discoveries in animal behavior and evolution, Odd Couples explores some of the most extraordinary sexual differences in the animal world. Daphne Fairbairn uncovers the unique and bizarre characteristics of these remarkable species and the special strategies they use to maximize reproductive success. Fairbairn also considers humans and explains that although we are keenly aware of our own sexual differences, they are unexceptional within the vast animal world.

Looking at some of the most amazing creatures on the planet, Odd Couples sheds astonishing light on what it means to be male or female in the animal kingdom.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication Page
• Contents
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: The Roots of Sexual Differences: Why Male and Female Animals Differ
• Chapter 3: Elephant Seals: Harems, Hierarchies, and Giant Males
• Chapter 4: Great Bustards: Gorgeous Males and Choosy Females
• Chapter 5: Shell-Carrying Cichlids: Protective Males and Furtive Females
• Chapter 6: Yellow Garden Spiders: Sedentary Females and Roving Males
• Chapter 7: Blanket Octopuses: Drifting Females and Dwarf Males
• Chapter 8: Giant Seadevils: Fearsome Females and Parasitic Males
• Chapter 9: Bone-Eating Worms: Female Tubeworms with Harems of Minuscule Males
• Chapter 10: Shell-Burrowing Barnacles: Sac-Like Females with Harems of Phallic Males
• Chapter 11: The Diversity of Sexual Differences: Differences between Males and Females across the Animal Kingdom
• Chapter 12: Concluding Remarks
• Acknowledgments
• Appendix A: Scientific Names Corresponding to Common Names Used in the Text
• Appendix B: Summary of Sexual Dimorphisms by Animal Phylum
• Notes
• Glossary of Technical Terms
• Sources
• Illustration Credits
• Index