Unusual Substrate to Grow: When Macroalgae Grow on the Upper Jaw of a Pufferfish
Résumé
Following a predation injury, one pufferfish (Arothron hispidus) had its upper jaw colonized with macroalgae. The fish has since lived for at least one year with this algal assemblage (unidentified red algae, Padina boryana and Dictyota bartayresiana). This algal proliferation caused a malformation of the fish jaw, raising the question of its survival with a physical defect in coral reefs, which are biodiversity but also predation hotspots.