How Clownfish Identify Intruders
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Clownfish are small ocean fish with bright orange bodies, white stripes, and black tips
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They are also known as anemonefish and are named for their bold colours, which resemble a clown's uniform
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They are smaller fish, with the smallest around 7 to 8 cm long and the longest 17 cm long
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Clownfish are found in warm waters, such as the Red Sea and Pacific Oceans, in sheltered reefs or lagoons, living in anemone
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Small and colourful, they have one of the most interesting symbiotic relationships
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Recent research has explored how clownfish distinguish between members of their own species and other reef fish
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Studies have shown that clownfish use the absence or presence of vertical white stripes to identify intruders
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No stripes would signal acceptance and similar striping would prompt defense, according to previous studies
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However, clownfish not only identify stripes but also count them, according to a latest study published in the Journal of Experimental Biology
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