Black-face Blenny Courtship
Male black-face blennies (Tripterygion delaisi) have a brilliant yellow-orange body with a deep black head when breeding. Females blend superbly with their surroundings. Did you spot the female in the cover page image?
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Male and female on 18 June 2014.
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The same couple as in photograph 1, also on 18 June 2014. The male stays close to the female for most of the time and also performs a darting dance around her, which seems to encourage her to lay eggs.
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The same male (I assume) on 24 June 2014. There is now no female and the male’s colours are less intense with darker bands showing through the yellow.
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The male is back in full courtship finery on 8 July 2014. The female with him, based on her markings, appeared to be a different individual from the June visitor. She seemed to also lay eggs.
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The couple on 8 July 2014. As well as the brilliant yellow-orange, the black on the male’s head is extremely intense. His facial feature are only discernible here because I have deliberately lightened the black in this photograph.
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On 27 July 2014, there is again a female with the male and she appeared to be a further different individual. Given the short time I observed him over the months, this territorial male was impressively successful at wooing visitors. How many partners did he have in total?