semelparous

/ ˈsɛməlˌpærəs /

adjective

1. Also: hapaxanthic.  monocarpic. (of a plant) producing flowers and fruit only once before dying

2. (of an animal) producing offspring only once during its lifetime

Other Word Forms

• semelparity noun

Example Sentences

So when you’re enjoying a candlelit dinner with your loved one or indulging in some other romantic celebration of Valentine’s Day, please keep in mind that humans are not semelparous.

Read more on Scientific American

Male kalutas, small mouselike marsupials found in the arid regions of Northwestern Australia, are semelparous, meaning that shortly after they mate, they drop dead.

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Only around a fifth of the species in this group of carnivorous marsupials — which includes Tasmanian devils, quolls and pouched mice — are semelparous and, until recently, scientists were not sure if kalutas were among them.

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Kalutas are dasyurids, the only group of mammals known to contain semelparous species.

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Kalutas evolved independently of other semelparous dasyurids, so the confirmation that male kalutas die after mating suggests that this unorthodox reproductive strategy has evolved not once, but twice in dasyurids.

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