Tomato cod (Cephalopholis sonnerati) having its gills cleaned by a cleaner shrimp. This is a symbiotic (mutually beneficial) relationship: the shrimp

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Tomato cod (Cephalopholis sonnerati) having its gills cleaned by a cleaner shrimp. This is a symbiotic (mutually beneficial) relationship: the shrimp removes harmful parasites from the fish's body and in return can feed unharmed. The tomato cod is a type of grouper found in the tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific region. Photographed off Mabul Island, Malaysia.

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Size: 3661px × 2491px
Photo credit: © MATTHEW OLDFIELD/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: animal, asian, bony, cephalopholis, cleaner, cleaning, east, fish, gill, gills, grouper, head, indo-pacific, mabul, malaysian, nature, parasites, pisces, removal, removing, shrimp, slits, sonnerati, south, station, symbiosis, symbiotic, tomato, wildlife, zoology