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  • This is a pair of Korean seahorses (Hippocampus haema) engaged in unusual post-mating courtship activity. Earlier in the morning, the pair had completed hours of courtship, culminating with the female (right) depositing eggs into the brooding pouch of the male (left). Once this takes place, the pair usually return to independent activity, most often foraging for food. In this instance, the pair stayed together. They maintained body contact, often with their prehensile tails intertwined as pictured here. The male broods the eggs for three to ten weeks, depending upon the time of year. After hatching the juveniles, the male engages in courtship with the female and mates again throughout the spring and summer breeding season. Pair bonds are reasonably consistent, though there seems to be some mixing that takes place. Described in 2017, this species is found in the waters of Korea, as well as along the southern and western coasts of Japan.
    hippocampus-haema-korean-seahorse-co...tif
  • This is a palr of Korean seahorses (Hippocampus haema) engaged in unusual post-mating courtship activity. Whenever the two seahorses separated and were not in direct physical contact, they maintained frequent eye contact, as depicted here with the male in the background (belly full of eggs) looking toward the female. Earlier in the morning, the pair had completed hours of courtship, culminating with the female depositing eggs into the brooding pouch of the male. Once this takes place, the pair usually return to independent activity, most often foraging for food. In this instance, the pair stayed together. The male broods the eggs for three to ten weeks, depending upon the time of year. After hatching the juveniles, the male engages in courtship with the female and mates again throughout the spring and summer breeding season. Pair bonds are reasonably consistent, though there seems to be some mixing that takes place. Described in 2017, this species is found in the waters of Korea, as well as along the southern and western coasts of Japan.
    hippocampus-haema-korean-seahorse-co...tif
  • This is a pair of Korean seahorses (Hippocampus haema) engaged in unusual post-mating courtship activity. Earlier in the morning, the pair had completed hours of courtship, culminating with the female (background) depositing eggs into the brooding pouch of the male (foreground). Once this takes place, the pair usually return to independent activity, most often foraging for food. In this instance, the pair stayed together. They maintained body contact, often with their prehensile tails intertwined. The male broods the eggs for three to ten weeks. After hatching the juveniles, the male engages in courtship with the female and mates again throughout the spring and summer breeding season. Pair bonds are reasonably consistent, though there seems to be some mixing that takes place. Described in 2017, this species is found in the waters of Korea, as well as along the southern and western coasts of Japan.
    hippocampus-haema-korean-seahorse-co...tif
  • This is a palr of Korean seahorses (Hippocampus haema) engaged in unusual post-mating courtship activity. Whenever the two seahorses separated and were not in direct physical contact, they maintained frequent eye contact, as depicted here. Earlier in the morning, the pair had completed hours of courtship, culminating with the female (right) depositing eggs into the brooding pouch of the male (left). Once this takes place, the pair usually return to independent activity, most often foraging for food. In this instance, the pair stayed together. They maintained body contact, often with their prehensile tails intertwined as pictured here. The male broods the eggs for three to ten weeks, depending upon the time of year. After hatching the juveniles, the male engages in courtship with the female and mates again throughout the spring and summer breeding season. Pair bonds are reasonably consistent, though there seems to be some mixing that takes place. Described in 2017, this species is found in the waters of Korea, as well as along the southern and western coasts of Japan.
    hippocampus-haema-korean-seahorse-co...tif
  • This is a male Korean seahorse (Hippocampus haema) on the left, with two females competing for his attention. The dark stripe down the central ventral surface of the seahorses is indicative of courtship. Both females have a clutch of eggs that they are ready to deposit with a male, who will then brood them for a period of three to ten weeks. Though pair bonds of these fish seem to be reasonably consistent throughout the breeding season, instances of competition like this (two females for a male, as well as two males for a female) do take place. Here one female engaged the male in the elaborate courtship ritual, while the other female stayed close while attempting to get the male’s attention. After some time, the male broke away from one female and went to the other. This process repeated multiple times, and likely continued for many hours beyond the time I was able to observe. Described in 2017, this species is found in the waters of Korea, as well as along the southern and western coasts of Japan.
    hippocampus-haema-korean-seahorse-co...tif
  • Male and female humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) engaged in courtship. The female is the closer of the pair. As often seems to be the case during courtship, these humpback whales were extremely inquisitive, with the female being particularly interested in boats and people. Photographed in Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga.
    humpback-whales-engaged-in-courtship...tif
  • Male and female humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) engaged in courtship. The female is the closer of the two whales. As often seems to be the case during courtship, these humpback whales were extremely inquisitive, with the female being particularly interested in boats and people. The graceful, almost balletic, movements of the female are characteristic of courting couples. Photographed in Vava'u, Tonga.
    humpback-whales-courtship-megaptera-...tif
  • Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) engaged in courtship. The male is in the foreground, female in the background. These whales were extremely friendly and engaged for several hours with people in the water. Male/ female pairs engaged in courtship often swim in graceful motions like this.
    graceful-humpback-whale-courtship-me...tif
  • Pair of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) engaged in courtship. The male is in the foreground, with the female’s mammary slits and hemispheric lobe visible in the background.
    humpback-whale-courtship-200508-V1N0...tif
  • This is a palr of Korean seahorses (Hippocampus haema) preparing to spawn. About 30 seconds after this photo was taken, the seahorses swam up from the reef, where the lighter-colored female (left) deposited eggs into the abdominal pouch of the male (right). Once spawning takes place, seahorses usually  usually return to independent activity, most often foraging for food. In this instance, the pair stayed together post-spawning and continued courtship-like behavior. They maintained body contact, often with their prehensile tails intertwined. The male broods the eggs for three to ten weeks, depending upon the time of year. After hatching the juveniles, the male engages in courtship with the female and mates again throughout the spring and summer breeding season. Pair bonds are reasonably consistent, though there seems to be some mixing that takes place. Described in 2017, this species is found in the waters of Korea, as well as along the southern and western coasts of Japan.
    hippocampus-haema-korean-seahorse-co...tif
  • Three porcupine pufferfish (Diodon holocanthus) pursuing a female. There were originally five males in pursuit when I first came across this group. The courtship process lasts for several hours, culminating when only one or two males remain. This happened in the evening, around 20:00 hours. The female swam to deep water, around 23m, then rushed for the surface at high speed with the males in pursuit. She released a cloud of eggs at 12m, and the males followed with release of sperm. The courtship process is energetic, with the males chasing and biting the female. The female hid from the males on several occasions, forcing them to find her.
    Diodon-holocanthus-porcupinefish-cou...tif
  • Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) courtship pair, female twirling in the foreground, male in the background.
    humpback-whale-male-and-female-court...tif
  • Southern hemisphere humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) engaged in courtship, with the male hovering above the female. This pair hovered nearly motionless for an extended period of time, watching people above who were floating on the ocean surface looking down at the whales.
    courtship-southern-hemisphere-humpba...tif
  • This is a pair of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) engaged in courtship, with one of the whales creating a dramatic swirling trail of bubbles with its fluke. Photographed in Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga.
    humpback-whales-engaged-in-courtship...tif
  • This is a pair of southern hemisphere humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) engaged in courtship. The individual above is the female. The male below is blowing a trail of bubbles, a gesture of dominance toward other males that were in the area showing interest in the female.
    humpback-whale-courtship-201808-3541.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
  • A pair of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) engaged in courtship, with the female in the foreground exhaling bubbles.
    humpback-whale-courtship-blowing-bub...tif
  • Pair of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) engaged in courtship. The female is in the foreground. She is at the surface, re-entering the water after performing a spyhop. Note how graceful and delicate the movement of her pectoral fin is.
    humpback-whale-courtship-megaptera-n...tif
  • During courtship, humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) sometimes swim together in a graceful manner reminiscent of a choreographed performance, and take an interest in boats and people. The two whales pictured here are a good example. The closer whale is the male, while the darker whale in the background performing a spyhop is the female. I came across this pair outside the Hunga island area in Vava'u, Tonga.
    humpback-whales-engaged-in-courtship...tif
  • A pair of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) engaged in courtship, with the male hovering above the female. As is often the case with courting humpbacks, this pair exhibited a high degree of curiosity and friendliness.
    humpback-whales-engaged-in-courtship...tif
  • Male whitespotted bamboo shark (Chiloscyllium plagiosum) biting the pectoral fin of a female shark during courtship. Unusually for sharks, these bamboo sharks seem to mate on a one-to-one basis. In other shark species, females are usually mobbed by multiple males. The male's two claspers are clearly visibly in this image, as are the male's siphon sacs, which are inflated with sea water for the purpose of washing the shark's semen into the female's cloaca during the actual act of mating. The siphon sacs depicted here seem to be inflated to a greater degree than seen in most other shark species. The entire courtship and mating process spanned at least eight hours. From the time that the male grasped the female's pectoral fin to the end of actual mating was approximately one hour.
    mating-whitespotted-bamboo-sharks-ch...tif
  • A male and female humpback whale pair, with the female above showing her abdomen and the male below.
    humpback-whale-male-female-courtship...tif
  • Pictured here is a mature male Asian sheepshead wrasse (Semicossyphus reticulatus) courting a smaller female wrasse. Note that the female’s belly is swollen with eggs, indicative of her receptivity for spawning. The male takes on this white coloration for breeding and territorial competition with other males.
    semicossyphus-reticulatus-courtship-...tif
  • This is a male Asian sheepshead wrasse (Semicossyphus reticulatus) courting a female. Note the sexual dimorphism, with the male being larger than the female, which has a swollen belly, indicative of her readiness to spawn. These wrasses are protogynous hermaphrodites, meaning they all start life as females, then change to males. This image is licensed on an exclusive basis to BBC through 29 October 2021.
    asian-sheepshead-wrasse-courtship-se...tif
  • This is a yellow-green wrasse (Thalassoma lutescens) male engaging in courtship display. He spawned several times while I observed, each time with a different female. He also chased away a number of other males.
    thalassoma-lutescens-banana-wrasse-m...tif
  • Intimate contact between two humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) engaged in courtship. The whale with the white pectoral fin is the male, the female on top. Such physical contact characterized this extended encounter with these two whales. One or both of the whales also made low, gurgling sounds that came across as lovey-dovey sounds, for lack of a better term.
    intimate-contact-humpback-whales-cou...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
  • Female humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) engaged in courtship (male visible in the rear), slapping the water and creating an impressive bubble stream. These whales were extremely friendly. They engaged for several hours with people in the water.
    humpback-whales-engaged-in-courtship...tif
  • This is a pair of humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) engaged in courtship. The whale in the foreground is the female. The darker one below is the male. The whales in this encounter were inquisitive and proactively sought out attention.
    humpback-whale-courtship-megaptera-n...tif
  • This is a pair of Korean seahorses (Hippocampus haema) engaged in spawning. The lighter-colored female on the left is depositing eggs into the brooding pouch of the male (right, looking toward the camera). The male’s pouch is swollen and distended to make room for the eggs, which he fertilizes once they are deposited. The male broods the eggs for three to ten weeks. After hatching the juveniles, the male engages in courtship with the female and mates again throughout the spring and summer breeding season. Pair bonds are reasonably consistent, though there seems to be some mixing that takes place. Described in 2017, this species is found in the waters of Korea, as well as along the southern and western coasts of Japan.
    hippocampus-haema-korean-seahorse-sp...tif
  • Male and female humpback whale diving. The male has his penis extended. I observed this pair hanging out for extended periods of time in between dives. The female had a habit of hanging in a head-down position, with the ventral surface of her fluke held parallel to the surface of the water, at or just above the water line, while the male stayed nearby. It is possible that the two whales were engaged in courtship behavior.
    male-humpback-whale-penis-visible-ma...tif
  • This is a pair of red-spotted blennies (Blenniella chrysospilos) engaged in spawning. The white individual in the foreground is female. She has deposited eggs in the male's burrow. The male in the background was waiting in a nearby burrow and is now rushing back to fertilize the eggs. His dark color is indicative of courtship, which is no longer necessary once spawning commences. But there was another female nearby that he was trying to attract, even as he was spawning with this female.
    blenniella-chrysospilos-red-spotted-...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
  • Pictured here is a pair of red-spotted blennies (Blenniella chrysospilos). The dark male was actually fertilizing eggs in the burrow beneath him. There was already a female in the burrow. While that female was depositing eggs, the male maintained this dark courtship coloration and displayed for the female seen here. The male was successful in getting the attention of this female, as evidenced by her visit to his burrow, but he was unable to accommodate her at the time documented here. It is possible that this female returned later, once the other female had finished depositing eggs.
    blenniella-chrysospilos-red-spotted-...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
  • Female humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) doing a spyhop, with motor boat and person in the background. This whale was the female of a pair engaged in courtship. The whales were extremely inquisitive and friendly, proactively approaching and engaging people in the water. The person in the background is Captain Ongo, who was one of the people who started the whale watching industry in Vava'u, Tonga.
    humpback-whale-spyhop-with-boat-and-...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
  • Red Light District: A pair of mandarinfish (Synchiropus splendidus) mating at late dusk, photographed to appear as if illuminated against a red lantern suggestive of red light districts. Photographed in the Lembeh Strait, North Sulawesi, Indonesia.
    mating-mandarinfish-at-night-synchir...tif
  • This is a male red-spotted blenny (Blenniella chrysospilos) fertilizing eggs. The female is in the burrow beneath him and has deposited eggs. Once the male finishes, he goes to another hole and waits for the female to deposit more eggs before coming back to fertilize again. After repeating this process multiple times, the female departs and leaves the male to care for the developing young.
    blenniella-chrysospilos-red-spotted-...tif
  • Pictured here is a pair of red-spotted blennies (Blenniella chrysospilos) that have just finished spawning. After attracting the female (foreground) to his burrow, the male moves to another hole while the female deposits eggs. He visits multiple times to fertilize while she does this. This is the spit-second just before the female departs and the male takes over to brood the eggs. The male's dark hue is breeding coloration.
    blenniella-chrysospilos-red-spotted-...tif
  • This is a rear view of a male humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae australis) engaged in a dominance display by blowing a stream of air bubbles. Visible in the top left background is a female humpback whale. This female was associated with the male blowing bubbles. The pair were approached by several other males, which precipitated the bubble blowing seen here. A portion of one of the other whales is visible in the bottom right corner. Displays like this are a common behavior among male humpback whales accompanying females during the breeding season.
    humpback-whale-male-bubbles-dominanc...tif
  • This is a male Salarias luctuosus combtooth blenny, a species that is found in shallow waters throughout a limited range in Japan, from Wakayama prefecture down through the Ryukyu islands. This male is displaying breeding coloration. It was competing with another male to attract the attention of a nearby female.
    salarias-luctuosus-combtooth-blenny-...tif
  • This is a male Korean seahorse (Hippocampus haema) hatching a juveniles after brooding them for somewhere between three and ten weeks. The adult is about 8cm in length. As they develop, the juveniles are curled up inside the brood pouch. Though some emerge straightened out, many are ejected in curled-up form, eventually unfurling, some soon after emerging, some sinking as they take time to adjust. Described in 2017, this species is found in the waters of Korea, as well as along the southern and western coasts of Japan.
    hippocampus-haema-korean-seahorse-ma...tif
  • This is a male Korean seahorse (Hippocampus haema) hatching a juveniles after brooding them for somewhere between three and ten weeks. The adult is about 8cm in length. As they develop, the juveniles are curled up inside the brood pouch. Though some emerge straightened out, many are ejected in curled-up form, eventually unfurling, some soon after emerging, some sinking as they take time to adjust. Described in 2017, this species is found in the waters of Korea, as well as along the southern and western coasts of Japan.
    hippocampus-haema-korean-seahorse-ma...tif
  • Mature sperm whale bull (Physeter macrocephalus) in the foreground with adult females visible in the background. This male was 15-16m in length. Though he approached females in the vicinity continually and persistently, the females did not exhibit interest. On this one occasion, he was associated with seven females, six of which are visible here, though the females left him shortly after this photograph was taken. Note the parallel scars on the male’s head, indiciative of encounters with other mature males.
    sperm-whale-mature-bull-with-females...tif
  • This is the fluke of a female humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) that had a penchant for resting head-down in the water with her fluke at the surface, as pictured here. She was with a male humpback whale. The two whales seemed to be paired up. At the end of the encounter, the two dived together, the male with his penis extended. I was able to photograph the pair as they dived in this manner.
    humpback-whale-female-resting-upside...tif
  • Male long-spine porcupinefish (Diodon holocanthus) pursuing a female fish. This was the culmination of several hours of activity involving a number of males pursuing this female, until finally only one male was left. During the pursuit, the female swam at rapid speed in seemingly random directions, as if she were trying to lose the males. She hid in crevices at times, forcing the males to search for her. The males nipped and bit her constantly. The actual mating event took place well after sundown, with the fish swimming out to a deep part of the channel at about 23 meters, then rushing toward the surface, releasing eggs and sperm at about 12 meters depth.
    diodon-holocanthus-mating-long-spine...tif
  • Humpback whales in a heat run, with six males competing for the attention of a female that already had a calf. Photographed in Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga
    humpback-whales-heat-run-tonga-20120...tif
  • Close-up view of the pectoral fin of a female humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) that was one of the two whales in a courting pair. She was very friendly and approached closely on a number of occasions. Note what appear to be parasites attached to some of the barnacles on the pectoral fin.
    close-up-view-pectoral-fin-humpback-...tif
  • Mating mandarinfish, just under the jetty of Tufi Dive Resort. This photograph is a film scan.
    Mandarinfish-mating-Synchiropus-sple...tif
  • This is a male Korean seahorse (Hippocampus haema) hatching a juveniles after brooding them for somewhere between three and ten weeks. The adult is about 8cm in length. As they develop, the juveniles are curled up inside the brood pouch. Though some emerge straightened out, many are ejected in curled-up form, eventually unfurling, some soon after emerging, some sinking as they take time to adjust. In this photo, a number of curled-up juveniles are just about to be ejected from the brood pouch. Described in 2017, this species is found in the waters of Korea, as well as along the southern and western coasts of Japan.
    hippocampus-haema-korean-seahorse-ma...tif
  • This is male Korean seahorse (Hippocampus haema) on the verge of giving birth. His brooding pouch has just opened, with several curled-up baby seahorses about toe emerge. The outlines of more babies can be seen through the skin of the male’s pouch. Note the seahorse’s use of his prehensile tail to anchor itself to the algae. Giving birth is an exhausting, physical process.
    hippocampus-haema-korean-seahorse-gi...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
  • Male long-spine porcupinefish (Diodon holocanthus) pursuing a female fish. This was the culmination of several hours of activity involving a number of males pursuing this female, until finally only one male was left. During the pursuit, the female swam at rapid speed in seemingly random directions, as if she were trying to lose the males. She hid in crevices at times, forcing the males to search for her. The males nipped and bit her constantly. The actual mating event took place well after sundown, with the fish swimming out to a deep part of the channel at about 23 meters, then rushing toward the surface, releasing eggs and sperm at about 12 meters depth.
    long-spine-porcupinefish-mating-diod...tif
  • This is a male broadclub cuttlefish (Sepia latimanus) engaging in courtship. He is stroking the female with his tentacles. If she accepts, they will mate and she will deposit eggs while the male maintains vigil to warn off other males.
    sepia-latimanus-broadclub-cuttlefish...tif
  • This is a mature male Asian sheepshead wrasse (Semicossyphus reticulatus) approaching two smaller female wrasses during the courtship season. Note that the bellies of the females are swollen with eggs, indicative of receptivity for spawning. The male takes on this pastel coloration for breeding and territorial competition with other males.
    semicossyphus-reticulatus-courtship-...tif
  • Shown here is a male Sepia latimanus cuttlefish (right) approaching a female (left) in order to attempt to mate. The male has split his body pattern and coloration into two distinct halves for courtship. The half facing the female is a subdued whitish tone, which presumably communicates calm, soothing intent. The other half is normal pattern, possibly to ward off other males.
    sepia-latimanus-cuttlefish-courtship...tif
  • Pictured here is a pair of weedy stingfish (Scorpaenopsis cirrosa) prior to spawning. The male is on the left, female right. Photographed in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.
    scorpaenopsis-cirrosa-courtship-weed...tif
  • This is a female Sepia latimanus broadclub cuttlefish preparing to deposit eggs into the Acropora coral. Females adopt this characteristic scrunched up face prior to depositing eggs. The male that has just mated with her is standing guard in the background to keep other males away.
    sepia-latimanus-cuttlefish-courtship...tif
  • This is a pair of Pteromys volans orii flying squirrels that have just emerged from their nest early in the morning during the winter reproductive season. The individual on the left is female, right male. After preening together, the pair ascended into the canopy to forage. They mated 10 days after this photo was taken.
    japanese-flying-squirrel-pteromys-vo...tif
  • This is a pair of spotted moray eels (Gymnothorax meleagris) coming together within a colony of Pavona decussata coral just prior to spawning. The larger male is on the left. Photographed in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.
    gymnothorax-meleagris-moray-eels-spa...tif
  • This is a pair of Pteromys volans orii flying squirrels that have just emerged from their nest early in the morning during the winter reproductive season. The individual facing the camera is male. After preening together, the pair ascended into the canopy to forage. They mated 10 days after this photo was taken.
    japanese-flying-squirrel-pteromys-vo...tif
  • This is a pair of Pteromys volans orii flying squirrels that have just emerged from their nest early in the morning during the winter reproductive season. The individual on the left is female, right male. After preening together, the pair ascended into the canopy to forage. They mated 10 days after this photo was taken.
    japanese-flying-squirrel-pteromys-vo...tif
  • This is a pair of Pteromys volans orii flying squirrels that have just emerged from their nest early in the morning during the winter reproductive season. The individual on the left is female, right male. After preening together, the pair ascended into the canopy to forage. They mated 10 days after this photo was taken.
    japanese-flying-squirrel-pteromys-vo...tif
  • This is a female Zoarchias major eelpout attempting to dislodge a male from a hole in the reef. Females sometimes approach males and curl up next to them, rub against their bodies. This has been misinterpreted as behavior suggesting affection, in the courtship context. Males do the same to females as well. In reality, one fish is attempting to dislodge the other from a prime piece of real estate. Sometimes the intruder succeeds, sometimes not. Image 3 of 6 in a sequence illustrating this behavior.
    zoarchias-major-female-pulling-male-...tif
  • These are Zoarchias major eelpouts. The orange individual is female; the one in the hole is male. The female has approached the male, curled around him and rubbed him in a manner that divers in the area interpreted as affection or interest in the courtship context. In actuality, the female is trying to dislodge the male from the hole in order to occupy it herself. It is an antagonstic encounter, not one characterized by amorous interest. Given that these fish come up from deeper waters to congregate and socialize in this specific place at a specific time of year, the possibility that this activity is related to reproduction in the greater context is high, though how and when reproduction takes place remains unknown. Image 2 in a sequence of 3.
    zoarchias-major-female-getting-ready...tif
  • This a male spotty goby's (Laiphognathus multimaculatus) normal drab appearance, without the brilliant yellow, blue and orange colors associated with courtship and spawning. This dull appearance and pattern help the fish to blend into the reef when it leaves its burrow to look for food, as pictured here.
    laiphognathus-multimaculatus-spotty-...tif
  • These are Zoarchias major eelpouts. The orange individual is female; the one in the hole is male. The female has approached the male, curled around him and rubbed him in a manner that divers in the area interpreted as affection or interest in the courtship context. In actuality, the female was attempting to dislodge the male from the hole in order to occupy it herself. It is an antagonstic encounter, not one characterized by amorous interest. The male retaliated by biting the female, which caused her to leap and twist in order to escape, as pictured here. Given that these fish come up from deeper waters to congregate and socialize in this specific place at a specific time of year, the possibility that this activity is related to reproduction in the greater context is high, though how and when reproduction takes place remains unknown. Image 3 in a sequence of 3.
    zoarchias-major-female-fighting-with...tif
  • These are Zoarchias major eelpouts. The orange individual is female; the one in the hole is male. The female has approached the male, curled around him and rubbed him in a manner that divers in the area interpreted as affection or interest in the courtship context. In actuality, the female is trying to dislodge the male from the hole in order to occupy it herself. It is an antagonstic encounter, not one characterized by amorous interest. Given that these fish come up from deeper waters to congregate and socialize in this specific place at a specific time of year, the possibility that this activity is related to reproduction in the greater context is high, though how and when reproduction takes place remains unknown. Image 1 in a sequence of 3.
    zoarchias-major-female-getting-ready...tif
  • This is a female Zoarchias major eelpout attempting to dislodge a male from a hole in the reef. Females sometimes approach males and curl up next to them, rub against their bodies. This has been misinterpreted as behavior suggesting affection, in the courtship context. Males do the same to females as well. In reality, one fish is attempting to dislodge the other from a prime piece of real estate. Sometimes the intruder succeeds, sometimes not. Image 5 of 6 in a sequence illustrating this behavior.
    zoarchias-major-female-pulling-male-...tif
  • This is a female Zoarchias major eelpout attempting to dislodge a male from a hole in the reef. Females sometimes approach males and curl up next to them, rub against their bodies. This has been misinterpreted as behavior suggesting affection, in the courtship context. Males do the same to females as well. In reality, one fish is attempting to dislodge the other from a prime piece of real estate. Sometimes the intruder succeeds, sometimes not. Image 4 of 6 in a sequence illustrating this behavior.
    zoarchias-major-female-pulling-male-...tif
  • This is a female Zoarchias major eelpout attempting to dislodge a male from a hole in the reef. Females sometimes approach males and curl up next to them, rub against their bodies. This has been misinterpreted as behavior suggesting affection, in the courtship context. Males do the same to females as well. In reality, one fish is attempting to dislodge the other from a prime piece of real estate. Sometimes the intruder succeeds, sometimes not. Image 6 of 6 in a sequence illustrating this behavior.
    zoarchias-major-female-pulling-male-...tif
  • This is a female Zoarchias major eelpout attempting to dislodge a male from a hole in the reef. Females sometimes approach males and curl up next to them, rub against their bodies. This has been misinterpreted as behavior suggesting affection, in the courtship context. Males do the same to females as well. In reality, one fish is attempting to dislodge the other from a prime piece of real estate. Sometimes the intruder succeeds, sometimes not. Image 2 of 6 in a sequence illustrating this behavior.
    zoarchias-major-female-pulling-male-...psd
  • This is a female Zoarchias major eelpout attempting to dislodge a male from a hole in the reef. Females sometimes approach males and curl up next to them, rub against their bodies. This has been misinterpreted as behavior suggesting affection, in the courtship context. Males do the same to females as well. In reality, one fish is attempting to dislodge the other from a prime piece of real estate. Sometimes the intruder succeeds, sometimes not. Image 1 of 6 in a sequence illustrating this behavior.
    zoarchias-major-female-pulling-male-...tif
  • Luciola parvula himebotaru fireflies flashing at night for courtship and reproduction. This is a composite image comprising photos taken over a period of four and a half hours.
    luciola-parvula-himebotaru-fireflies...tif
  • Southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) with pectoral fin raised above the ocean surface. This was a group of several whales, perhaps engaged in courtship/ mating activity. The whale with its pectoral fin in the air was the focal animal, which suggests there was a high probability it was female. Visible in the background are fields of canola, a major crop in South Africa. Photographed with the permission of the Department of Environmental Affairs, South Africa.
    southern-right-whale-pectoral-fin-ra...tif
  • This is a pair of barred soapfish (Diploprion bifasciatum) moments before spawning. The male is in the foreground. Photographed in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.
    diploprion bifasciatum-courtship-bar...tif
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