I know its a common joke and mermaids are called half human half fish, but Ariels tail goes up and down like a marine mamal not side to side like most fish.
She should be reproducing like mamals.
Yeah, there's no fish that reproduces like this, and Ariel would be a mammal anyway.
To clarify: parasitic bitterlings have an ovipositor, but they deposit eggs into the gills of living mussels. Seahorses have an ovipositor, but they transfer eggs into a brood pouch while the male ejaculates so the fertilized eggs are deposited in the pouch.
There are no known fish that have an egg deposited into a male cloaca. The closest you get is a brood pouch on seahorses and pipefish.
564
u/HumanPersonNotRobot Jul 17 '26
I know its a common joke and mermaids are called half human half fish, but Ariels tail goes up and down like a marine mamal not side to side like most fish. She should be reproducing like mamals.