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Courtship
and Mating
Pictures of Marine Wildlife, Birds, Frogs, and Reptiles |
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Courtship
may involve complicated movements, touching, vocalization,
displays of beauty, or fighting prowess. The male
hooded seal, for example, inflates a large proboscis
pouch. Male sharks typically bite their female partners,
sometimes inflicting severe wounds. Sea turtles hold
onto their mate with hooks on their forelegs to help
prevent other males from dislodging them. Birds perform
exquisite dances and present gifts of food to females.
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Picture of manta rays,
Manta birostris, swimming over reef in courtship
behavior, West Maui, Hawaii, Pacific Ocean
Picture #: 011451 |
Image of mating giant
land tortoises, St. Helena Island, South Atlantic,
species unknown, tortoises brought from elsewhere
years ago
Picture #: 070749 |
Stock photo of a male
hooded seal, Cystophora cristata, inflates
proboscis as part of a courtship display,
Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada, Atlantic
Picture #: 074897 |
Photo of blue swimmer
crabs, Portunus pelagicus, pair
mating. The male may hold on to the smaller female
in this position for several days. The female was
eating a piece of fish discarded by a fisherman,
Edithburgh, South Australia, Southern
Ocean
Picture #: 073797 |
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Picture of pre-mating
of horn sharks, Heterodontus
francisci, smaller male
on either side of female grasp her pectoral fin in
their teeth and wrap tail around hers to copulate,
Pacific
Picture #: 076894 |
Image of market squid, Loligo
opalescens, mating, La Jolla, California,
Pacific
Picture #: 078140 |
Stock photo of the courtship
of zebra leopard sharks, Stegostoma
varium or Stegostoma
fasciatum, male bites female, Sipadan Island, Malaysia,
Borneo, Pacific
Picture #: 078380 |
Photo of a mating pair
of green sea turtles, Chelonia
mydas, with additional
interloper males attempting to dislodge the primary
male. Sipadan Island, Malaysia.
Picture #: 045209 |
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Picture of a school
of mating manta rays, Manta
birostris, Mi'il Channel,
Yap, Micronesia, Pacific Ocean
Picture #: 060249 |
Image of courtship
and mating among wild mimic octopus, Thaumoctopus
mimicus, Bali, Indonesia. Male is smaller.
Picture #: 063691 |
Stock photo of sleek
unicornfish, blacktongue unicornfish, or Thorpe's
unicornfish, Naso hexacanthus, courtship
coloration or color phase, Andaman Islands, India
Ocean
Picture #: 031931 |
Photo of waved albatross, Diomedea
irrorata, in courtship
dance, Hood island, Galapagos
Picture #: 069960 |
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Picture of masked
boobies, mating, Sula dactylatra, Espanola
island, Galapagos, Ecuador
Picture #: 069965 |
Image of mating nudibranchs,
Risbecia tryoni, Papua New Guinea, Pacific
Picture #: 071742 |
Stock photo of a pair
of great crested grebe, Podiceps
cristatus, mating,
Germany
Picture #: 074274 |
Photo of a least tern
male, Sterna antillarum browni, as it presents
fish to female as courtship ritual - endangered.
Huntington Beach State Park, California
Picture #: 079651 |
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Picture of mating pair
of crabs, Family Portunidae, Pt Hughes,
Yorke Peninsula, South Australia, Southern
Ocean
Picture #: 080028 |
Image of Australian
giant cuttlefish mating, Sepia
apama, male is on
right, Whyalla, Eyre Peninsula, South Australia,
Southern Ocean
Picture #: 080215 |
Stock photo of nudibranchs,
group mating, Verconia verconis, Edithburg,
Yorke Peninsula, South Australia
Picture #: 080273 |
Photo of pair of ocellated
dragonets mating, Synchiropus
ocellatus, at Lembeh
Straits, Indonesia.
Picture #: 083383 |
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