AssetID: 52951239
Headline: Peek-a-boo! I'll Eat You! Trumpetfish's Remarkable Game Of Hide-And-Seek Hunts Prey
Caption: Scientists have discovered a remarkable ocean-going game of hide-and-seek. The predatory trumpetfish hides behind other, non-threatening species to sneak up on its unsuspecting prey. Divers had previously observed the long, thin fish taking a piggyback ride from larger sea-dwellers while hunting but until now the unusual behaviour was unexplained. In this ‘shadowing’ behaviour, the long, thin trumpetfish uses a non-threatening species of fish, such as parrotfish, as camouflage to get closer to its dinner of damselfish. After tests involving replica trumpet and parrot fish they discovered the reason for its ocean-going game of hide and seek as if a fake trumpetfish appeared, its prey scarpered pretty sharpish. However, if the fake parrotfish appeared the oblivious fish would continue about their business. Yet if a trumpetfish appeared on the back of a parrotfish, the damselfish carry on, oblivious to the threat. “When a trumpetfish swims closely alongside another species of fish, it’s either hidden from its’ prey entirely, or seen but not recognised as a predator because the shape is different” said Dr Sam Matchette, a researcher in the University of Cambridge’s Department of Zoology and first author of the study. Matchette, along with his co-author and dive buddy Christian Drerup, spent hours underwater, barely moving, to conduct their experiment. The research was funded by The Whitten Programme in Tropical and Aquatic Biology, The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour, and The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.
Keywords: Trumpetfish,Fish,Animals,Nature,Parrotfish,Oceans,Natural World,Animal,Hide-And-Seek,Prey,Hunt,Aquatic,Biology,The Whitten Programme,The Fisheries Society,British Isles,Zoology,Wildlife,RAW,Video,University of Cambridge,Dr. James Herbert-Read
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