starfish
Explanation
The Joke
Two starfish (sea stars) are lying on the ocean floor. One starfish tells the other: "I'd much rather clone myself via fragmentation. I'm only sleeping with you because we're in a resource-poor environment, so don't go bragging to your friends."
The Humor
The comic anthropomorphizes starfish by giving them human-like attitudes about sex and relationships, while keeping the biology accurate. Many species of starfish can indeed reproduce asexually through fragmentation -- if a limb is severed, it can regenerate into a complete new organism. They also reproduce sexually, and research suggests that sexual reproduction may be favored in resource-poor or stressful environments because it produces genetic diversity, which is advantageous when conditions are harsh.
The joke reframes this biological trade-off as a relationship dynamic familiar to humans: the starfish is essentially telling its partner "this means nothing to me -- I'd rather just clone myself, and I'm only here because circumstances forced my hand." It is the underwater equivalent of a dismissive one-night stand, complete with the instruction not to brag about it. The comedy comes from mapping cold biological strategy onto petty human social behavior.
References
- Starfish fragmentation: Many sea star species can reproduce asexually. Some can regenerate entire bodies from a single severed arm, effectively cloning themselves.
- Sexual vs. asexual reproduction trade-offs: In evolutionary biology, sexual reproduction is generally favored in variable or challenging environments because it generates genetic diversity, while asexual reproduction (cloning) is more efficient in stable, resource-rich conditions.