Females across the animal kingdom began wresting back control of their sexual destiny and egg paternity from the assumed dominance of males. DNA testing techniques resulted in a cascade of other females – from lizards to snakes to lobsters – having their fidelity revoked. Polyandrous tendencies were discovered in every vertebrate group, and amongst invertebrates polyandry was proclaimed the norm rather than the exception. True till-death-do-us-part sexual monogamy, on the other hand, proved to be extremely rare, found in less than 7 per cent of known species. ‘Generations of reproductive
...more
