Gracing our Picture of the Week article today is a lovely pair of squarespot anthias (Pseudanthias pleurotaenia). This just so happens to be a male and female pair, with the male showing off that big pink square spot from which the species gets its name. In addition to the big bold square, males can also exhibit a brilliant dark pink coloration whenever they change into “super males”. Females are more drably colored, lacking the square spot and having a predominately orange appearance. Like with most anthias species, the male squarespot will dominate large groups of females, called a harem. When the dominant male dies, the most dominant female will change sex into a male, eventually dominating the entire group.
