National Geographic News, Reporting Your World Daily

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Photo: Cleaner Fish Wear "Uniforms" to Advertise, Avoid Danger


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A male squarespot anthias stops for a cleaning in Fiji's Rainbow Reef, courtesy of a blue-and-yellow striped cleaner wrasse.

Cleaner fish, such as wrasses and gobies, sport a "uniform" of colors and body patterns to let clients know where to find them—and not to eat them—an August 2009 study says.

Photograph by Tim Laman