#147: So Dramatic

The Story Behind So Dramatic

Sea creatures fascinate me to no end. From Blue Whales who have absolutely gigantic 1.5 meter long hearts, to Mariana Snailfish who live about 8 kilometers deep on the sea floor, to tube worms who can thrive in hydrothermal environments around 50 degrees Celsius. Today I'd like to feature a critter that is famous not for its immense size or ability to live in extreme environments - no, our little puffer fish's claim to fame is its ability to make beautiful art!

The male white-spotted pufferfish - torquigener albomaculosus for those who speak Latin - is known for creating beautiful, circular geometric nests in the sand. Males create these nests in order to attract a mate, apparently female pufferfish find sweet geometric homes very attractive. On BBC One's Life Story series Sir David Attenborough called these fish, "the greatest artist of the animal kingdom" and, I, as another artist in the animal kingdom, completely agree!

Plain Text Description of So Dramatic

A smaller puffer fish is admonishing a visibly distressed, larger, and fully puffed-up puffer fish to, "Stop being so dramatic". The larger puffer fish is, in fact, reacting to an extremely large, toothy sea monster directly behind the smaller puffer fish.