A good father

style="float: right; margin-bottom: 10px; font-weight: 600;"Sun 29th Jul, 2012

Would you stay around if your partner cheated? Would you care for someone else's children? A little marine snail says yes.

Researchers from the University of California, USA, report on July 26 in Ecology Letters, a unique case of really good fatherhood. According to the authors, "Despite high levels of female promiscuity, males of a marine snail provide exclusive, and costly, care for the offspring." And what makes this case even more unusual is the fact that most of the offspring (over 75%) are not descended from the caring father. This study changes the current view that males will care for their offspring only when they are confident over their paternity.

Article: Exclusive male care despite extreme female promiscuity and low paternity in a marine snail


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