Mating System
Fish in the genus Limia are lecithotrophic, meaning that there is pre-fertilization maternal provisioning in the form of yolked eggs. The female gives birth to live young, which have a higher chance of survival than eggs and earlier stage fry. Fertilization is achieved internally with the male's gonopodium, a modified anal fin used for sperm transfer. Because of the asymmetrical energy costs associated with internal fertilization, females in many Poeciliid species act as the choosy sex, with males exhibiting ornate coloration and morphology as well as elaborate courtship displays. Limias, however, mostly lack display or extreme sexual dimorphism/dichromism. Of the known species, only the Humpback Limia (L. nigrofasciata), Perugia's Limia (L. Perugiae) and the Blackbelly or Jamaican Limia (L. melanogaster) have been found to exhibit male courtship displays. The majority of limia species rely on sneak copulation, in which the male thrusts his gonopodium into the female's genital pore without a prior display. The consequence of this system of mating can be the undermining of female choice, halting the progression of sexual selection on male traits and in some cases inhibiting speciation.
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