School of sea goldies in a coral reef with feather stars, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia
© Gary Bell/Minden Picture
A goldie gala
It's ladies' night at the Great Barrier Reef: Boasting bright orange-pink coloration, this school of sea goldies appears to be all-female. But that could change quickly: Sea goldies are protogynous hermaphrodites, meaning that when there aren't enough fellas around, the largest females change sexes to become male, turning purplish and growing even larger. All goldies are born female, but those that switch to males enjoy instantly better odds at mating time: For every male goldie there are up to 10 females.
Related Images
Night scenery with full noon, Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park, B.C.
Yunishigawa Kamakura Festival in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan
A Brandt's cormorant hunts for a meal in a school of Pacific mackerel beneath an oil rig off the coast of Los Angeles
Green sea turtle with sardines near Playa Grandi Beach, Curaçao
Manatees in the Ichetucknee River in Florida
Biorocks growing coral off the Gili Islands, Indonesia
Emperor penguins in the Ross Sea, Antarctica
Dr. Sylvia Earle explores the Great Barrier Reef in a scene from 'Mission Blue'
Bing Today Images
Yurts in the grassland of Mongolia
Jul 28, 2025
Bathing huts on the beach in Skåne County, Sweden
Jul 28, 2024
San Blas Islands, Panama
Jul 28, 2023
Shot of rocks in water in Tobermory, Ontario
Jul 28, 2022
Hamelin Pool Marine Nature Reserve in Australia
Jul 28, 2020
People on a swing ride at a carnival
Jul 28, 2018
Close-up of a fly on flower stamens
Jul 28, 2017
Castelluccio in Monti Sibillini National Park, Italy
Jul 28, 2016
