Ciara Battle
November 10, 2015
Honors Biology and English
Mrs. Hart and Mrs. Buckmaster
"Clownfish of the Sea" The vibrant clownfish is a beautiful attention-grabbing creature of the sea. There is a verse in the Bible that depicts this fish as being abundant. Psalm 104:25 says, "So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts." Amphiprion percula is the scientific name of clownfish (Prosek 1). The environment and specific characteristics help produce a dominant species. The body structure of the clownfish is unique. The difference in weight of the female and male fish varies greatly. The female fish is unquestionably larger than the smaller male clownfish. One of the reasons female fish are larger…show more content… The female fish weighs in at 250 grams; while the male fish weighs in close behind at 225-230 grams ("Introduction to Clownfish" 4). The female clownfish length ranges from 4 to 6 1/2 inches. On the other hand, the non-breeding male's average of length is 3 to 5 1/2 inches, while the breeding male's is 5 1/2 to 6 inches (5). Clownfish are named for their God-given bold strokes that vary from a lush purplish brown to loud oranges, reds and yellow. The distinctive strokes help decorate their bodies. For a majority of the clownfish, their colors are split by abrupt lines of black and white. The stripes that clownfish possess, warn predators of the stinging home that is nearby ("Clownfish" 345). The fish bodies are layered with 30-38 slimy, mucus covered scales. The scales on the fish help to protect bones and muscle in the fish which helps it swim (Miller 36). The layer of slime that covers the fish also helps to protect the fish from their habitat. The layer of slime also help to keep them safe from predators that try to harm them. One special characteristic that they use to scare their predators away is to slam their teeth together to
