EEB Researchers Reconstruct the Evolutionary Radiation of Deep Sea Anglerfishes

Bufoceratias wedli, a deep-sea anglerfish species, reproduces through a version of sexual parasitism in which the male temporarily attaches to the much larger female, according to a new study by Yale researchers. (Image: Masaki Miya/ Wikipedia Commons (CC BY-SA))
May 24, 2024

EEB graduate student Chase Brownstein and EEB professor and chair Thomas Near have teamed up with a group of colleagues to investigate the evolutionary history of deep sea anglerfishes. Their study published in Current Biology demonstrates how a combination of transition to open water swimming, an unusual mode of sexual parasitism, and the loss of adaptive immunity worked in synergy in facilitating the adaptive radiation of these remarkable animals. The study is profiled by YaleNews.