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  • This is the test, or hard interior shell, of a Diadema setosum sea urchin. Found and photographed in Kannoura, Toyo-cho, Kochi-ken, Shikoku, Japan.
    diadema-setosum-sea-urchin-test-japa...tif
  • This is the test, or hard interior shell, of a flower urchin (Toxopneustes pileolus). Found and photographed in Kannoura, Toyo-cho, Kochi-ken, Shikoku, Japan.
    flower-urchin-test-toxopneustes-pile...tif
  • This is an aerial view of the small island of Kashiwa-jima in Kochi Prefecture, Japan, visible here connected to the mainland by a small bridge. Kashiwa-jima is a fishing community, and is also popular among recreational scuba divers. The pens in the foreground are for aquaculture. The large pens hold tuna.
    kashiwajima-aerial-panorama-japan-20...tif
  • Stormy coastline at sunrise, photographed at Fushigoe no Hana in Kochi prefecture in Shikoku, Japan.
    stormy-sunrise-fushigoe-no-hana-koch...tif
  • Black-eared-kite (Milvus migrans lineatus) soaring overhead. Kochi Prefecture, Japan. トビ
    black-eared-kite-milvus-migrans-line...tif
  • Grey heron (Ardea cinerea) in flight in Kannoura, Kochi prefecture, Japan. アオサギ
    grey-heron-flying-ardea-cinerea-koch...tif
  • Moonlit rocks on the beach near Fushigoe no Hana in Kochi prefecture in Shikoku, Japan.
    moonlit-landscape-fushigoe-no-hana-k...tif
  • Sunrise at Fushigoe no Hana in Kochi prefecture, Japan.
    sunrise-fushigoe-no-hana-kochi-prefe...tif
  • Japanese luna moth (Actias artemis) in Kochi prefecture, Japan. オオミズアオ
    japanese-luna-moth-actias-artemis-ko...tif
  • Head-on view of a grey heron (Ardea cinerea) in flight. Photographed in Kochi prefecture, Japan.  アオサギ
    grey-heron-ardea-cinerea-kochi-japan...tif
  • Black-eared kite (Milvus migrans lineatus) in flight. This sub-species of Milvus migrans can be distinguished by a relatively large pale carpal patch. Kochi prefecture, Japan. トビ
    milvus-migrans-lineatus-black-eared-...tif
  • Two black-eared kites (Milus migrans lineatus) engaged in mid-air combat. One bird swooped talons outstreched toward the other, which spun around in response. The two never made contact however, with the encounter finished in the blink of an eye. Photographed in Kochi prefecture, Japan. トビ
    black-eared-kites-aerial-combat-koch...tif
  • Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus) flying over the ocean in late afternoon light. This is a subspecies of Milvus migrans that is common in Kochi prefecture, Japan. トビ
    black-eared-kite-milvus-migrans-line...tif
  • Grey heron (Ardea cinerea) with long lens held out straight. Photographed in Kochi prefecture, Japan. アオサギ
    aredea-cinerea-grey-heron-flying-koc...tif
  • Grey heron (Ardea cinerea) flying low over the ocean. Photographed in Kochi prefecture, Japan. アオサギ
    ardea-cinerea-grey-heron-flying-koch...tif
  • Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus) flying over the ocean in late afternoon light. This is a subspecies of Milvus migrans that is common in Kochi prefecture, Japan. トビ
    milvus-migrans-lineatus-black-eared-...tif
  • Black-eared kite (Milvus migrans lineatus) grabbing a fish from the water. Kochi prefecture, Japan. トンビ
    milvus-migrans-lineatus-black-kite-c...tif
  • This Montane brown frog (Rana ornativentris) is endemic to Japan. ヤマアカガエル
    montane-brown-frog-rana-ornativentri...tif
  • Nonegawa in Shikoku, Japan. 野根川
    nonegawa-flowing-river-shikoku-japan...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
  • 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
  • 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 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
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