Two Californian Pomacentrids — Limbaugh 
45 
Fig. 5. An adult male Hypsypops rubicunda remov- 
ing a starfish of the genus Pisaster that has been placed 
on the nest by the diver. 
lently, he releases sperm on the eggs as they are 
laid. After the female departs he may go over 
the eggs again, still in a state of high excitement. 
One end of the capsule-shaped egg (Fig. 4) 
is attached to the red seaweed by short threads. 
The eggs measure approximately 1 by 2 mm 
and are orange-yellow in color immediately after 
they have been spawned. They gradually turn 
greenish-gray as development proceeds. 
The eggs hatch in 2 to 3 weeks in laboratory 
aquaria maintained at 60-70 F (15.6-21.1 C). 
However, they do not keep well in laboratory 
tanks. They hatch only if they are agitated and 
those that do hatch can be maintained only 
until their yolk supply is depleted. A few newly 
hatched young were fed on brine shrimp larvae 
and some of them survived in the aquaria up to 
6 days. In the field the eggs hatch in several 
weeks and larvae may be collected in near-shore 
plankton hauls. 
The male continues to guard the nest as long 
as it contains developing eggs. He is very pug- 
nacious, challenging fishes up to 3 1 /^ times his 
own length, biting them and making thumping 
noises which ultimately drive them away. A nest 
left unguarded is quickly attacked by other male 
garibaldis and the eggs are devoured. The resi- 
dent male on returning will make the encroach- 
ing male beat a hasty retreat. 
Foreign objects such as shells, stones, crabs, 
and starfish (Figs. 5, 6) are removed if they 
settle or are placed on the nest. If the summer 
waves raise the sand level until it endangers the 
nest, the male will clean the sand away. Some 
dig holes as deep as 8 inches around the nests. 
Half -inch young appear from July through 
November. They are brilliantly colored with 
iridescent butterfly-blue markings over an other- 
wise translucent orange body, and the heads are 
striped with blue. As they grow older, the orange 
color deepens and they gradually lose their blue 
markings (Figs. 1, 2, 7). These brightly-colored 
young seek shelter within the tiny crevices of 
their habitat. As they enter the shade of a crevice 
the bright blue turns black (because it is a 
reflected color), and the fish disappears from 
sight. Young garibaldis are frequently associated 
with the large red urchin, Strongylo centrotus 
franciscanus. I have collected these young by 
using SCUBA, a small dip net, and a glass bottle. 
The half-grown fish pass through a dull 
orange stage, when they are much less conspicu- 
ous than either the young or the adults. As they 
FIG. 6. An adult male Hypsypops rubicunda carry- 
ing a starfish (shown in Fig. 4) away from the nest 
area. 
