Sexual Selection and Extinction

Nearly 78 million-year-old fossil male ostracod of the species Veenia ponderosa. Measuring approximately 870 microns long, it is more than 100 microns longer than its female counterpart. This indicates the need to accommodate the large male genitalia. A team of scientists analyzed this and other specimens in the collection of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History to understand the role of sexual selection in extinction. Their findings were published in Nature April 11.

Credit: Gene Hunt, Smithsonian