Looking For Love
$50.00 USD
This is the face of a fish looking for love.
His name is Yamato, an Asian sheepshead wrasse (Semicossyphus reticulatus), the dominant male (for the time being) controlling the territory around a rocky outcrop in off the coast of Sado Island in northwest Japan.
Like others of his species, Yamato started life as a cute juvenile and matured into a reproductive female first. As a female, it is quite likely that he (then a she) spawned with other males. When the previous dominant male in this area died or otherwise left the scene, Yamato transmogrified (I love that word!) into this handsome fellow. He now rules the roost, so to speak, and come mating season, he patrols the area with single-minded fervor, shooing off potential rival males and wooing females.
How can you not love that face?
In scientific geek-speak, the process of starting adult life as a female and morphing into a male is called protogynous hermaphroditism. The opposite (starting life as a male and becoming female, as clownfish/ anemonefish do, is called protandrous hermaphroditism. Throw that one out as a fun fact at your next dinner party.
This image was recognized as a Highly Commended in the 2018 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition #WPY54. Yamato was featured in episode 1 of BBC’s Blue Planet II series.
Each print is chopped with my logo. Sizes listed are the dimensions of the printed image in inches (see FAQ for equivalent sizes in centimeters). There is an additional white border around the image to allow for framing. A complete list of image and paper sizes can be found in the FAQ.
His name is Yamato, an Asian sheepshead wrasse (Semicossyphus reticulatus), the dominant male (for the time being) controlling the territory around a rocky outcrop in off the coast of Sado Island in northwest Japan.
Like others of his species, Yamato started life as a cute juvenile and matured into a reproductive female first. As a female, it is quite likely that he (then a she) spawned with other males. When the previous dominant male in this area died or otherwise left the scene, Yamato transmogrified (I love that word!) into this handsome fellow. He now rules the roost, so to speak, and come mating season, he patrols the area with single-minded fervor, shooing off potential rival males and wooing females.
How can you not love that face?
In scientific geek-speak, the process of starting adult life as a female and morphing into a male is called protogynous hermaphroditism. The opposite (starting life as a male and becoming female, as clownfish/ anemonefish do, is called protandrous hermaphroditism. Throw that one out as a fun fact at your next dinner party.
This image was recognized as a Highly Commended in the 2018 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition #WPY54. Yamato was featured in episode 1 of BBC’s Blue Planet II series.
Each print is chopped with my logo. Sizes listed are the dimensions of the printed image in inches (see FAQ for equivalent sizes in centimeters). There is an additional white border around the image to allow for framing. A complete list of image and paper sizes can be found in the FAQ.
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