Jun 18
Uncharismatic Fact of the Day
Too many girlfriends? Not a problem for the hawkfish! The species in this family are protogynous, meaning that all individuals start out as females at birth. As adults, they form harems around a dominant male; but if there are too many females, then one or more of them will change into males and branch off with up to half of the remaining females. Not enough girlfriends? Not a problem either! If the number of females in a harem gets too low, or if they lose a challenge from another male, the former harem leader will simply revert back to being female.
(Image: A longnose hawkfish (Oxycirrhites typus) by Diego Delso)
