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  • This is a pair of Japanese dwarf flying squirrels (Pteromys volans orii) engaged in copulation. The crack in the middle of the tree is the entrance to their nest.
    japanese-dwarf-flying-squirrel-copul...tif
  • This is a pair of Japanese dwarf flying squirrels (Pteromys volans orii), photographed during breeding season. The individual higher up on the tree is a female in oestrus. In the first two images in this sequence of three, the male approaches the female from behind to attempt copulation. In the third image, the female spins around to indicate in no uncertain terms that she is not ready. The pair’s nest is in the crack in the tree.
    japanese-dwarf-flying-squirrels-copu...tif
  • This is a pair of Japanese dwarf flying squirrels (Pteromys volans orii) engaged in copulation. This is an extended process spanning many hours, during which the male often needs to fend off rivals while engaging in repeated bouts of copulation. As shown here, the female can, and often does, put up some measure of resistance, occasionally dislodging the male completely. The male’s penis is visible.
    japanese-dwarf-flying-squirrels-mati...tif
  • This is a pair of Japanese dwarf flying squirrels (Pteromys volans orii) engaged in copulation. This is an extended process spanning many hours, during which the male often needs to fend off rivals while engaging in repeated bouts of copulation.
    japanese-dwarf-flying-squirrels-mati...tif
  • This is a pair of Japanese dwarf flying squirrels (Pteromys volans orii) engaged in copulation. This is an extended process spanning many hours, during which the male often needs to fend off rivals while engaging in repeated bouts of copulation. As shown here, the female can, and often does, put up some measure of resistance, occasionally dislodging the male completely. The male’s penis is visible.
    japanese-dwarf-flying-squirrels-mati...tif
  • This is a pair of Japanese dwarf flying squirrels (Pteromys volans orii) engaged in copulation. This is an extended process spanning many hours, during which the male often needs to fend off rivals while engaging in repeated bouts of copulation.
    japanese-dwarf-flying-squirrels-mati...tif
  • This is a pair of Japanese dwarf flying squirrels (Pteromys volans orii) engaged in copulation. This is an extended process spanning many hours, during which the male often needs to fend off rivals while engaging in repeated bouts of copulation.
    japanese-dwarf-flying-squirrels-mati...tif
  • This is a pair of Japanese dwarf flying squirrels (Pteromys volans orii) engaged in copulation. This is an extended process spanning many hours, during which the male often needs to fend off rivals while engaging in repeated bouts of copulation.
    japanese-dwarf-flying-squirrels-mati...tif
  • This is a pair of Japanese dwarf flying squirrels (Pteromys volans orii) engaged in copulation. This is an extended process spanning many hours, during which the male often needs to fend off rivals while engaging in repeated bouts of copulation.
    japanese-dwarf-flying-squirrels-mati...tif
  • Pteromys volans orii flying squirrels engaged in copulation during daylight hours
    pteromys-volans-orii-flying-squirrel...tif
  • This series of six images shows a pair of Japanese dwarf flying squirrels (Pteromys volans orii) that have just emerged from a nest in the tree. The male pursues the female; the pair copulate; and the female returns to the nest. Over the course of a day or so, the male copulates as many times as possible. Rival males sometimes approach, which can result in a heated battle between males.
    japanese-dwarf-flying-squirrels-copu...tif
  • This is a pair of Radulinopsis taranetzi sculpins copulating, with the male on top. Internal fertilization takes place in this species, with the female depositing her clutch of eggs after choosing a suitable location, then covering them with sand and rubble. Females of this species use their wide mouths to suck water over the eggs in order to aerate them.
    radulinopsis-taranetzi-sculpins-copu...tif
  • This is a pair of Radulinopsis taranetzi sculpins preparing to copulate, with the male on top. Internal fertilization takes place in this species, with the female depositing her clutch of eggs after choosing a suitable location, then covering them with sand and rubble. Females of this species use their wide mouths to suck water over the eggs in order to aerate them.
    radulinopsis-taranetzi-sculpins-copu...tif
  • 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.
    mating-whitespotted-bamboo-sharks-ch...tif
  • 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.
    whitespotted-bamboo-shark-courtship-...tif
  • Mating whitespotted bamboo sharks (Chiloscyllium plagiosum), with the male above, insertion of right clasper clearly visible. This photograph depicts the final stages of copulation, which spanned approximately five minutes. Consequently, the male's siphon sacs are almost entirely deflated, indicating that the bulk of sperm insertion has already taken place. Just over one hour elapsed between the time that the male was able to grasp the female's pectoral to the final act of copulation. The male pursued this female for at least seven hours prior to being able to bite the female's pectoral fin, with the entire sequence of events taking place in water that was between two and six meters deep.
    mating-whitespotted-bamboo-sharks-ch...tif
  • When female Pteromys volans orii squirrels go into estrus, there is usually a primary male with her. He fends off challengers and does his best to monopolize copulation opportunities. Females will mate with other males when the opportunity arises however. Here, the female has snuck out to copulate with another male. The primary male has just realized what is happening and has rushed out of the den to confront the interloper.
    pteromys-volans-orii-flying-squirrel...tif
  • This is a male whitespotted bamboo shark (Chiloscyllium plagiosum) working his way into a crevice in order to approach a female shark for mating. The male had to work from a relatively inconvenient angle in order to position himself to bite the female's pectoral fin to initiate the courtship process. The female was lodged in a narrow space, with limited access for potential suitors. From the time the male succeeded in biting the female's pectoral fin until the act of copulation took about one hour. The male's two claspers (the organs used for inseminating the female shark) are clearly visible here.
    male-whitespotted-bamboo-shark-clasp...tif
  • In the days leading up to mating among whitespotted bamboo sharks (Chiloscyllium plagiosum), empty egg sacs like the one pictured here appear. These eggs sacs do not contained fertlized embryos. They are empty, and they are not old egg sacs from which juvenile sharks have already emerged. The appearance of these empty eggs sacs seems to coincide with heightened male shark activity, with ensuing courtship and copulation.
    whitespotted-bamboo-shark-empty-egg-...tif
  • This is a view of olive ridley turtle (Lepidocheyls olivacea) copulation from beneath the turtles. The male has inserted his penis (which is situated in his tail) into the female's cloaca to inseminate her.
    lepidocheyls-olivacea-olive-ridley-t...tif
  • Male whitespotted bamboo sharks (Chiloscyllium plagiosum) initiate the courtship process by biting and holding on to the female shark, striving to get a firm grasp on one of the pectoral fins as depicted here. The female appears to struggle and attempt to escape, leading the male on an extended swim. At some point, the female seems to give in, and the male has an opportunity to mate. During this sometimes intense swim, the male gradually inflates his siphon sacs with seawater, visible here as the bulge at the ventral area of the male. The male uses seawater to flush his sperm into the female's cloaca when the time comes to mate. As shown here, these bamboo sharks seem to mate one-to-one, which is in contrast to observed behavior in other shark species, when a single female attracts the attention of many males at once.
    courtship-whitespotted-bamboo-shark-...tif
  • Pictured here is a pair of olive ridley turtles (Lepidocheyls olivacea) engaged in mating.
    lepidocheyls-olivacea-olive-ridley-t...tif
  • This is a male elkhorn sculpin (Alcichthys elongatus) watching over a carpet of bright yellow eggs. This is a difficult scene to document, as males of this species select tight crevices for their reproductive dens, sites characterized by cramped, restricted access. This species reproduces via internal gametic association, meaning copulation takes place, but fertilization only occurs when females spawn the eggs and contact with seawater happens. The Japanese name is Niji-kajika. Photographed in Hokkaido, Japan.
    alcichthys-elongatus-elkhorn-sculpin...tif
  • This is a pair of broadclub cuttlefish (Sepia latimanus) mating. Having succeeded in gaining the female's acceptance, the male on the right has wrapped his arms around the female's head. He is in the process of deliverying a package of sperm with his hectocotylus (modified left tentacle). The male typically stays with the female while she deposits fertilized eggs, to guard against copulation by other males.
    sepia-latimanus-cuttlefish-mating-ja...tif
  • This is a pair of mating Pteromys volans orii flying squirrels engaged in copulation on a cold winter day.
    pteromys-volans-orii-flying-squirrel...tif
  • This is a 40cm male elkhorn sculpin (Alcichthys elongatus) protecting his yellow eggs, which are adhered to the surface of the large rock above him. Clutches of eggs are in various stages of development. This species reproduces via internal gametic association, meaning copulation takes place, but fertilization only occurs when females spawn the eggs and contact with seawater happens. The Japanese name is Niji-kajika. Photographed in Hokkaido, Japan.
    alcichthys-elongatus-elkhorn-sculpin...tif
  • This is a pair of Pteromys volans orii flying squirrels mating. Copulation occurs multiple times over an extended period of time. This can happen inside the nest or outside, as shown here. Mating can take place in the day time or at night.
    pteromys-volans-orii-flying-squirrel...tif
  • This is a male elkhorn sculpin (Alcichthys elongatus) watching over a carpet of bright yellow eggs. This fish and his eggs were in a pocket hidden among rocks, accessible only via a narrow crevice of about 10cm in height. This species reproduces via internal gametic association, meaning copulation takes place, but fertilization only occurs when females spawn the eggs and contact with seawater happens. The Japanese name is Niji-kajika. Photographed in Hokkaido, Japan.
    alcichthys-elongatus-elkhorn-sculpin...tif
  • Hermaphroditic sea hares (Aplysia sp.) engaging in copulation and egg-laying in shallow water, at a depth of about five meters
    sea-hares-laying-eggs-aplysia-japan-...tif
  • This is a pair of Acanthosoma denticauda stink bugs copulating. Photographed in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan.
    acanthosoma-denticauda-stink-bugs-co...tif
  • This is a pair of pharoah cuttlefish (Acanthosepion pharaonis), female in the foreground. Having copulated with the male, the female is preparing an egg via internal fertilization, which she will then deposit under a nearby rock. The male in the background stands guard to ward off other males that might approach.
    acanthosepion-pharaonis-cuttlefish-r...tif
  • The pair of Pteromys volans orii flying squirrels in the center of the photo comprise a male (left, facing camera) and female (right). The female is in estrus. At this point, the pair had copulated several times, but also attracted the attention of rival males, like the one above, which was poised to pounce in an attempt to dislodge the primary male.
    pteromys-volans-orii-flying-squirrel...tif
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