Guppies Use Ugly Friends to Make Themselves Look Better

Photo: Clelia Gasparini

It's like The Hottie and The Nottie, fish-style! Italian researchers have discovered that a school of guppies can be quite as shallow and vain as popularity-obsessed high schoolers:

When it comes to mating, guppies treasure their ugly friends – because they look so good by comparison.

An article published Wednesday by Britain’s Royal Society says that male guppies prefer to associate with their drab-colored counterparts when females are around.

“Males actively choose the social context that maximizes their relative attractiveness,” the article said. Or, as lead author Clelia Gasparini put it, “If you are surrounded by ugly friends, you look better.”

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