Friday, February 09, 2007

:)

In a paper about some fish:

"During courtship the male approaches a female, swims parallel and slightly behind her, then the pair swim side-by-side and, wriggling frenetically, rise slowly for 2-3 m into the water column, release eggs and milt in a visible small cloud, and move back immediately to the bottom."
- Marconato et al (1995) The mating system of Xyrichthys novacula: sperm economy and fertilization success. J. Fish Biol. 47:292-301

Am I alone in thinking that if I ever watch these fish court and mate I will laugh so hard at the thought of their frenetic wriggling that I'll spit my regulator out by accident (either that or somebody will think I am suffering CNS oxygen toxicity and convulsing much like that man in the PADI video...)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Um, most fish seem to do this frenetic wriggling - if you take a look at my fish when they mate they all do this wierd shivery dance. I dare you to put "shivery dance" into your next scientific paper.

Unknown said...

you made me snort out loud with laughter during insurance lecture. :S