If Mr. Garibaldi Damselfish lets us, it’s time for a close up look at his design and fun facts about his species. Even though Garibaldi males are very protective and caring of their algae patch and eggs, they still occasionally eat some of the eggs. Females like to lay their eggs near other newly laid eggs with a bright yellow coloring. Because of this, males will sometimes eat older eggs to encourage other females to lay their eggs. Other than just an aggressively protective homemaker, male Garibaldi fish can be peaceful. Males have been seen eating within a few feet of each other as long as they are both out of the other’s territory. Kelp forests are vital to the lives of Garibaldi fish. Not only do they protect this fish from predators, the kelp forest is also where these fish socialize. Garibaldi fish have been seen gathering in the kelp without quarreling and it is speculated that they get to know one another and choose mates there. The Garibaldi fish is one of the largest damselfish in its Pomacentridae family which includes damselfish and clownfish. One of the key identifying features of the Garibaldi fish that my art does not show is its bright orange color. As an adolescence, they are still orange but with bright blue speckles. This bright orange color helped to inspire its name (sort of..). Its name, Garibaldi comes from the last name of an Italian military figure whose army wore bright red shirts (Of course, orange is not red but I guess it’s close enough). If you have seen my Mama Sea Otter’s design, you may have noticed my Garibaldi Damselfish’s design is very similar. I was inspired to do both of these animals while watching Blue Planet 2’s kelp forest episode. I found the sea otter’s vital role in the kelp forest fascinating and the Garibaldi Damselfish’s aggression to be hilariously adorable as I watched him pick up a sea urchin and put it down far away from his well pruned algae lawn. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red list of Threatened Species, the Garibaldi Damselfish is of least concern now. In the 1980s and 1990s, it became a very popular saltwater pet store fish and was vulnerable to being caught on fishing lines and spearing because of their territorial nature. As a pet store fish, its life span of about 15 years in the wild decreased. In 1995, California adopted the Garibaldi as their state fish and now only allows it to be taken out of its natural habitat with special permits. Check out my sources for more fun facts:
https://www.nps.gov/articles/garibaldi.htm https://www.nps.gov/chis/learn/nature/garibaldi.htm http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/onlinelearningcenter/species/garabaldi https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/183367/8100806 https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Hypsypops_rubicundus/
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Artist and Blogger
I'm just a doodling artist. My current style started in a lecture class at MCLA where I began doodling in my notebooks. Now I've started a new series focusing on animals. Archives
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