44 
Fig. 3. An adult male Hypsypops mbicunda at the 
mouth of a crevice, where he has retreated upon the 
approach of the diver. 
California, contained three principal kinds of 
algae. The most abundant was Ophidocladus 
calif ornicus; the other two species were Ptero- 
siphonia dendroides Falk, and Spermothamnion 
snyderae Farlow. A nest from 35 ft of water off 
Point Loma, California, was composed of algal 
material not previously described, and may rep- 
resent a new genus (E. Yale Dawson, personal 
communication ) . I could not determine whether 
the algae grew on the nest site or were placed 
there by the male. The patch is usually 10 
to 12 inches along its major axis. The nest site 
is always shaded and generally on a vertical 
surface in shallow water; in deeper water, it is 
in the open in a horizontal plane. These differ- 
ences in nest orientation are undoubtedly related 
to the light requirement of the red algae. The 
"garden nest" is kept clean and cropped to 
about Vi inch, while the surrounding rocks for 
a distance of 10 to 35 cm are kept completely 
bare by the male’s continual activity. The nest 
is guarded constantly and other fishes, including 
male garibaldis, are driven off. 
Spawning begins shortly after a female from 
a nearby area wanders into the general vicinity 
of the nest. The male challenges her when she 
approaches within 4 to 15 ft of the nest by 
making very loud thumping sounds and rushing 
toward her. Unlike the invading males, she does 
not swim swiftly away; instead she evades the 
male by darting past him toward the nest. After 
PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. XVIII, January 1964 
several challenges, in which the male may bite 
her, she arrives inside an area where he ceases 
to challenge her. This area is about a foot in 
diameter. 
Once inside the protected area the female 
moves slowly back and forth over the garden 
maintaining her genital area against the plants. 
The male usually joins her unless he is disturbed 
by the presence of other fishes. During spawning 
he is in a highly excited state, characterized by 
rapid darting motions, frequent challenges of 
other fishes, and quick returns to the nest. If 
he joins the female he may keep his genital 
area next to hers. At this time, quivering vio- 
FlG. 4. Two views of the capsule-shaped egg of 
Hypsypops rubicunda. The short threads of attach- 
ment extending from that portion of the egg opposite 
the head of the embryo may be seen in the upper 
photograph. 
