Saturday, March 24, 2007

And the award for the cutist fish goes too...


This is a Grunt Sculpin or Grunt-fish (jeez even the name is cute) who inhabits the Pacific coast. Not much bigger than your thumb, it lives in areas of the continental shelf in deep water all the way up to tide pools along the shore. I love it's mating habits too, the female chases the male until he's cornered in a hole or crevasse, and forces him to stay there until she lays her eggs. What the marine biologists aren't telling you is, after the eggs are laid and fertilized, the female Sculpin divorces the male and gets the house, the kids, and a hefty sum of money every month. (photo taken at the Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach, CA.)

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