CARNAL NATION

In some species, it seems that promiscuity is a wise safety precaution.  At least that's what Australian researchers found with regard to the fiddler crab, reports The Australian.  In the study--published yesterday in the journal Biology Letters--Richard Milner, Professor Michael Jennions and Dr Patricia Blackwell found that female fiddler crabs are willing to offer sex to males in exhange for their protection.

Male fiddler crabs are gifted with a single enormous claw, the largest claw relative to overall size in the entire animal kingdom.  But females don't have the giant claw, so they're unable to protect themselves against unwanted advances from other males.  Both males and females need to defend their territory, and the females are physically powerless against the enormous appendage.

By sleeping around, the female crab is able to get the protection of multiple males, ensuring her chance of survival when other wandering male crabs enter the area.  According to the study, males protected female neighbors in 95% of instances when a male intruder came on the scene, but only 15% of the time when a female intruder appeared.  "This suggests that males don't care who their neighbour is, as long as they are female."  How chivalrous!

Incidentally, this isn't the only fiddler crab-related news story lately.  It seems the tiny-brained crustaceans have nearly 360-degree vision, and they may help influence the development of robots.