There are few hermaphrodite vertebrate animals, many of them extremely curious. In Supercurioso we talk about them in an article about hermaphrodite animals. But this time, we want to get closer to a really beautiful hermaphrodite fish specimen: the Serranus Tortugarum, the fish that changes sex 20 times a day.
Popularly known as the pale serrano, this curious fish has as its main peculiarity to change sex with its partner in order to fertilize the eggs. The Serranus Tortugarum It is a small fish native to the Caribbean. Join us to meet one of the most curious animals in the world!
Serranus Tortugarum, the fish that changes sex 20 times a day
The Serranus Tortugarum It is a fish that we can often see in home aquariums, perhaps you have had one and did not know that it had the peculiarity of being a hermaphrodite. It is a fish whose natural habitat is coral reefs in Caribbean waters, especially in Panama.
They have beautiful colors that change depending on the light that reaches them, they are peaceful, easy to feed and resistant, which makes them magnificent specimens for those who are new to the subject of aquariums. Of course, in captivity they can never develop in the same way as in freedom.
Its natural habitat is sandy or coral bottoms between 12 and 400 meters deep, in addition, it usually feeds, above all, on brine shrimp or saltwater shrimp, prawns, crabs or snails.
According to biologists, these species can be found in the Western Atlanticspecifically in South Florida, the Bahamas, Honduras, the Virgin Islands, Panama, and a few others caribbean reefs.
Researchers of the University of Florida They focused their studies on the Serranus Tortugarum and in the way it reproduces, since it is a type of hermaphrodite of the so-called simultaneous, but it seems to be monogamous and change sex up to 20 times in one day during the breeding phase. They published their results in the journal Behavioral Ecology.
1. Simultaneous hermaphroditism
Before continuing, we must tell you what simultaneous hermaphroditism means, since from this phenomenon stems the potential success of mating in Serranus Tortugarum.
In the species of Serranus animals are always simultaneous hermaphrodites. Namely, they divide the laying of eggs of each day in parcels that reproduce sequentially and alternately with their partner. At first we might think that it is a fish with multiple sexual partners. However, the ecologist Mary Hart discovered that the Serranus Tortugarum is a monogamous animal.
2. What is known about this type of fish
The Serranus Tortugarum It measures approximately 8 cm in its adult stage and is shaped like a small torpedo. Your life expectancy in the wild does not exceed the year and to optimize reproduction for as long as they live, biologists believe they opt for monogamy.
Not only are they monogamous, but they work cooperatively, each member of the couple fertilizes the other’s eggs and they seek reciprocity in the amount of material in each laying. They never lay more than two eggs in a row before changing sex and make sure the other complies and cooperates in the same way, maintaining balance.
The team of marine biologists led by Dr. Hart spent 6 months studying the Serranus Tortugarum and observed that initially They mate for about two hours each day. Previously, a courtship is given that consists of small pinches and movements one around the other until they decide who assumes each role first.
After this, each fish changes from female to male and vice versa, releasing sperm and eggs, going back and forth and changing sexual roles each time. Yes indeed, always with the same partnerexcept in the event that his partner does not appear, which during the investigation occurred on a few occasions.
During the exchange it was observed that They can change sex up to 20 times.. We can say that they are one of the rarest fish in the world.
3. The possibilities of reproduction
The 2% of fish are hermaphrodites, but very few of them are simultaneous hermaphrodites. In the case of Serranus Tortugarum, changing sex allows you to fertilize your mate’s eggs and increases your chances of passing on your genes to the next generation.
In addition, since they live for a short time, the choice of a fixed partner with whom to meet daily, optimizes its reproduction, since you don’t need to waste time looking for new “loves” every day, biologists have called this the “egg trade” a strategy of a simultaneous hermaphrodite to maximize fitness through a combination of female and male investments.
In addition to being highly intelligent animals, sex-change fish are affected in their demographic by commercialization.
These beautiful fish are widely sought after for the pet trade, greatly reducing the number of individuals in their population. It is estimated that annually, 4,110 copies of the Serranus Tortugarum are marketedan unfortunate figure for its continuity as a species.
We have reached the end of our article. Tell us, did you know this little fish that changes sex? We read you! And in case you want to continue reading, we recommend you go through our entry on some of the animals that live in extreme conditions, you will learn about some of the strangest extremophile organisms.