10 animals in which males and females are so different that it’s hard to believe that they are the same species (14 photos)

Sexual dimorphism is the marked anatomical differences between males and females of the same species. This can be expressed not only in differences in size, but also in color or even differences in certain parts of the body.





We have collected several examples of females and males that are so different from each other in appearance that you might not immediately believe that they belong to the same species. And no, we are not talking about peacocks, pheasants and roosters and hens. We promise it will be more interesting.

Nyala antelope







In these African antelopes, the male is quite easy to distinguish from the female. In addition to the banal difference in size and the absence of horns in females, they differ from each other in color. Males are dark brown, while females are much lighter in color.

Sea Elephant



Elephant seals are easy to distinguish from other members of the seal family due to their huge nose. But a large nose is a feature of males that females do not have.

White-cheeked crested gibbons



Males and females of this species of primates are very different from each other in coat color. Males are black in color and have funny fluffy white whiskers. Females, on the contrary, have a light warm color.

Siamese fighting fish



In many species of aquarium fish, sexual dimorphism is quite pronounced. But it is especially noticeable in the example of Siamese fighting fish. Not only do males differ in color from females, but they also have a large, luxurious tail.

Grandala or blue bird





Among birds, one can see many examples of striking manifestations of sexual dimorphism. For example, in blue birds, females are gray and males are bright blue.

Red cardinal



This is the same bird that formed the basis for the design of the red bird from the game Angry Birds. Just look at how harsh she is. And again the male was distinguished by his brightness, and the female had bright color only on the beak and at the end of the tail and wings.

Wonderful bird of paradise





The wonderful bird of paradise is an example where nature has gone overboard with the external differences between males and females within the same species. The male is literally a little black hole with glowing turquoise eyes. And the female... is a completely ordinary-looking bird of a modest color.

Noble green-red parrot



And this is an example of when nature runs out of imagination, but still wants to do something strange. Deciding to take the simplest route, she simply painted the females and males with different colors. Males are green and females are red. Scientists have long thought that these are two different species, but relatively recently they had to announce to the world that this is not so.

Five-lined skink lizard



These lizards are born with a blue tail. But with age, males lose the blue color on their tails and acquire a reddish color on their heads, while females remain the same blue-tailed.

Tiger spider



In many spiders, sexual dimorphism is quite pronounced. The tiger spider is just one prominent example. In most cases, the female is larger than the male and looks more threatening.