| Main Ref. | Armstrong, R.H., 1996 |
| Mode | dioecism |
| Fertilization | internal (oviduct) |
| Mating type | monogamy: |
| Spawning frequency | |
| Spawning aggregation | Ref. |
| Batch spawner | Yes. Ref. Ragland, H.C. and E.A. Fischer, 1987 |
| Reproductive guild |
guarders clutch tenders |
| Parental Care | paternal |
| Description of life cycle and mating behavior | Males guard clutches of eggs and are quite territorial (Ref. 74407). The following account of mating behaviour comes from Ragland et.al. (1978): observed from an aquarium, courtship began 'when a gravid female approached a shelter occupied by a male. The male, which was not guarding eggs, responded by rolling its head in a circle and flaring the orange branchiostegal membranes. The cirri were not moved or deployed in any obvious fashion. The female either ignored the male or responded by snapping the head horizontally several times in rapid succession and occasionally quivering. Once she entered the nest, the male often extruded its pene and performed bouts of a fanning display similar to those of other cottids (Ref. 205). The female left the nest shortly after laying eggs.' Occurrence of intromission was not observed from this study due to technical problems. However, eggs stripped from gravid females developed and hatched after 11-15 days in the absence of a male, thereby supporting the hypothesis that internal fertilization had occurred. |
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