I felt privileged to witness the mating dance of this pair of pipefish (Corythoichthys nigripectus: 6 cms.). They moved sinuously around one another, touching once and briefly - which is the moment when I took this picture. Their interaction reminded me of the Sevillana; that colourful and erotic Spanish dance where the couple are close but never touch one another until the very end of the performance. The species is found commonly on coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific region and is ovoviviparous, with the male brooding the eggs and giving birth to live young. Photographed in the Egyptian Red Sea

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Size: 5123px × 3425px
Location: Dear Marsa Alam, Egypt
Photo credit: © Terence Dormer / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

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