• SoleInvictus
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    7 months ago

    Oh no, they change that much and sometimes even more. The hump is a sexual selection trait - the bigger the hump, the more likely it is that a male will get to mate. This favors genotypes that lead to a big ol’ hump. While not all pink salmon get a hump that large, the Barry Whites of the humpy salmon world have a great big shoulder boulder that makes the lady fish swoon.

    Here’s one of those fishy freaks: https://www.landbigfish.com/articles/default.cfm?ID=352

      • SoleInvictus
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        7 months ago

        They’re so weird! Imagine going through your life sleek and swift, just to turn into Quasimodo once you hit puberty. Then you die.