Platys and swordtails are related tropical freshwater fish.In studies,researchers have shown that female platys prefer males with swordtails,even though males of their own species do not have them.This was discovered by attaching artificial swordtails to platys males.What does this suggest about the origin of the swordtail feature?

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The fact that female platys show a preference for males with swords even though males of their own species do not have them suggests that female preference for swords may have predated the origin of the feature itself. This means that the evolutionary history of the swordtail feature likely involved females selecting males with the trait, which then became more common in the population over time.

Platys and Swordtails Are Related Tropical Freshwater Fish