Category: Fish
The blue-spotted stingray is generally found in Indonesia to Japan, and south to Northern Australia. They are popular aquarium fish that grow to a size of about 17 inches in diameter. They are unique in that they don’t usually bury themselves in the sand to hide from predators. While most animals avoid them due to their poisonous barbs, orcas and hammerhead sharks are two known predators of blue-spotted stingrays.
ABC. It’s easy as Protandry
The largest, most aggressive female anemonefish rules the roost - she is the dominant member of the social group, and with one breeding male, the only one who reproduces. In anemonefish society, everybody knows where they stand in the hierarchy! So when she leaves the group, everybody moves up one spot - including the largest, most aggressive male, who undergoes a sex change to become the leader (and breeding female) of the group. While undergoing a sex change might sound drastic to humans, it is actually not all that uncommon in other species. Many do it, either naturally or due to environmental factors: fish, invertebrates, amphibians, some reptiles, even the occasional chicken!
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