Mating Chiloscyllium plagiosum | Whitespotted Bamboo Sharks | Japan

The final few minutes during copulation of whitespotted bamboo sharks (Chiloscyllium plagiosum). Biting the female's right pectoral fin, the male has aligned his body to use the clasper on the right side of his body to inseminate the female. Clearly visible is the nearly deflated siphon sac structure on the ventral surface of the male, which provides a visual indicator of progress. The male uses his siphon sacs, which he has filled with seawater while swimming with the female during the courtship leading up to copulation, to flush semen into the female. Shortly after this photo was taken, copulation ended. The female immediately swam off, while the male collapsed onto the reef and remained motionless for an extended time.

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Filename: mating-whitespotted-bamboo-sharks-chiloscyllium-plagiosum-japan-201405-0297.tif
Copyright: Copyright Tony Wu. All rights reserved. No reproduction in any form without prior written permission
Image Size: 7360x4912 / 103.5MB; 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 Claspers Mating Oviparous Siphon Sacs Pacific Japan Shikoku Kochi-ken Aki-gun Toyo-cho Kannoura
Contained in galleries: Marine Life Reproduction, Chondrichthyes, Marine Life | Japan

The final few minutes during copulation of whitespotted bamboo sharks (Chiloscyllium plagiosum). Biting the female's right pectoral fin, the male has aligned his body to use the clasper on the right side of his body to inseminate the female. Clearly visible is the nearly deflated siphon sac structure on the ventral surface of the male, which provides a visual indicator of progress. The male uses his siphon sacs, which he has filled with seawater while swimming with the female during the courtship leading up to copulation, to flush semen into the female. Shortly after this photo was taken, copulation ended. The female immediately swam off, while the male collapsed onto the reef and remained motionless for an extended time.