True love found 80 feet down on the ocean floor.
(Pic #1) Close-up, creative pufferfish.
I think my husband could be a slacker. Look what this minuscule (5-inch) creature can pull off — in 10 days’ time — to attract a mate. Josh is always trying to find new ways to court me, and I think I need to share this report.
Not long ago, off the southern tip of Japan, a dedicated oceanic photographer named Amami Oshima discovered what he initially called a “mystery circle” — a shockingly intricate, rippling geometric pattern nearly 6-feet wide on the ocean floor. Well it turns out, the master architect of this stunning example of “environmental art” is a tiny pufferfish. He creates the mandala-like nest with his fins, digging furrows to attract the attention of passing female puffers (Click video, above.)
Before the female fish arrives to inspect his handiwork, the male forms quirky patterns in the fine sand of the central circle. He also decorates the peaks of the outer portion with shells and fragments of coral. (In contemporary art, we would tramadol call this texturizing or creative use of “found objects.”) Scientists believe, “when a potential female partner arrives on the scene, the male stirs up the fine sand in the nest’s inner circle. If she deems the nest (and the male who built it) satisfactory, she lays her eggs and leaves.”
(Pic #2) For a sense of scale: A male pufferfish (center) photographed by crew in 2012. Photo courtesy Kimiaki Ito.
Experts aren’t sure exactly what the females are looking for when they assess a male’s nest. It could be the patterns of fine sand, the decorations on the outside, or the nest’s size or perfect symmetry. But they do know that because the process is so time-consuming, a larger nest could indicate a stronger or “more fit”male suitor — both desirable traits to females.
Dudes: Take note.
FISHY FUN FACT: According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration less than five percent of the world’s oceans have been explored, meaning that 95% of what lies deep underwater on Earth has yet to be seen by human eyes.
