Amphiprion ocellaris (Ocellaris clownfish) Pelong SE, Brunei, 4m
Here's a familiar face. A. ocellaris is better known as the ocellaris clownfish, and is the species that Nemo is modelled after!
Like other clownfish, A. ocellaris live in groups within a host anemone, using the anemone's stinging tentacles for protection. They're immune to the stings, thanks to a protective mucus coating on their skin.
Clownfish are utterly fascinating. They're protandrous hermaphrodites, which means they begin life as males, but can change to females later on in life. The largest clownfish in the group is the female, and the second largest is the dominant male. The rest of the clownfish in the group are essentially juveniles, and remain very much smaller than the breeding pair. If the female dies, the dominant male becomes the female, and one of the juvenile clownfish goes through a period of sustained growth to take his place as the dominant male!
Classification Animalia - Chordata - Actinopterygii - Perciformes - Pomacentridae - Amphiprion - A. ocellaris










