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With its vibrant orange color and white stripes, also known as bars, the clownfish is among the most iconic sea creatures. But how does Nemo develop its distinctive look? Scientists are learning more about that process.
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How the clownfish earned its stripes
White patterns develop thanks to hormones and anemone friends.
Amphiprion percula, a species of clownfish photographed in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea. Credit: Tane Sinclair-Taylor.
How quickly clownfish get their white stripes depends on which anemones they live with, according to a new study published in
PNAS.
The pretty orange fish develop their white bars when they mature from larvae into adults – a process called metamorphosis – but how this happens was previously unknown.
Now, a team of researchers, led by Pauline Salis of the University of Paris, found that certain genes and thyroid hormones control how fast the fish grow their stripes, but hormonal levels are influenced by the type of anemone the clownfish live in.