Parasitism evolved at least 223 times, far more than the previous estimate of 60. It arose more times in certain phyla (e.g., arthropods, nematodes, flatworms, and mollusks) than in others. Today, ...

Members of the vertebrate group including anglerfishes are unique in possessing a characteristic known as sexual parasitism, in which males temporarily attach or permanently fuse with females to mate.

Parasitoid wasps sometimes lay eggs in unsuitable host insects, a behavior that has traditionally been considered accidental. However, researchers at the University of Tsukuba have discovered that ...

Today, 150 years after Darwin’s epochal “On the Origin of Species,” many questions about the molecular basis of evolution are still waiting for answers. How are signaling pathways changed by genes and ...

Many animal species add their eggs to the brood of other species to benefit from the latter’s brood care. This is called brood parasitism. Researchers recently studied brood parasitism in two ...

Scroungers and parasites seem to show up in nature wherever life produces something useful, and that includes parental care. Among birds, for example, the practice of laying eggs in other birds’ nests ...

As the planet’s most expansive ecosystem, the deep sea can be a tough place to find a mate. Though, scientists say, some deep-sea anglerfishes evolved a unique method of reproduction that ensures that ...

In the late 19th century, when scientists first discovered the single-celled creature called Nephromyces, they thought it was a parasitic fungus. They were wrong ...