Chiloscyllium plagiosum | Mating Whitespotted Bamboo Sharks | Japan

To initiate the courtship process, the male whitespotted bamboo shark (Chiloscyllium plagiosum) approaches the female and bites her to secure a grip. In order to mate, the male must keep up with the female as she struggles to break free of his grip. This involves thrashing and swimming over an extended period and area. To position himself properly for copulation, the male needs to bite the female's pectoral fin. If his initial bite is on another part of the female's body, the male must adjust his position to secure himself to the pectoral fin, as pictured here. In this image, the female and male have come to a brief rest after a prolonged swim of nearly an hour, with the female just about to take off again with suitor in tow. Copulation occurred within a couple of minutes of this photo being taken.

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Image Size: 7000x4666 / 93.5MB; https://www.photoshelter.com/support/license#rm; https://www.tony-wu.com/contact-tony-wu; Cartilaginous Fish Shark Carpet Shark Bamboo Shark Animalia Chordata Chondrichthyes Elasmobranchii Orectolobiformes Hemiscyllidae Chiloscyllium plagiosum Bluespotted Bamboo Shark Whitespotted Bamboo Shark Near Threatened: IUCN Red List Reproduction Courtship Copulation Mating Oviparous Pacific Japan Shikoku Kochi-ken Aki-gun Toyo-cho Kannoura
Contained in galleries: Marine Life Reproduction, Chondrichthyes, Marine Life | Japan

To initiate the courtship process, the male whitespotted bamboo shark (Chiloscyllium plagiosum) approaches the female and bites her to secure a grip. In order to mate, the male must keep up with the female as she struggles to break free of his grip. This involves thrashing and swimming over an extended period and area. To position himself properly for copulation, the male needs to bite the female's pectoral fin. If his initial bite is on another part of the female's body, the male must adjust his position to secure himself to the pectoral fin, as pictured here. In this image, the female and male have come to a brief rest after a prolonged swim of nearly an hour, with the female just about to take off again with suitor in tow. Copulation occurred within a couple of minutes of this photo being taken.