Fish of the MonthUnderwater Video

Of Snappers and Urchins

I am on a bit of a roll when it comes to observing unusual & interesting fish behavior. Two days ago, at night in a seagrass area at 5 meters off Negros Island in the Philippines I observed two juvenile red emperor snappers, Lutjanus sebae, hiding among the spines of two venomous fire urchins. The urchins were moving around at a considerable speed (for urchins), and the snappers stayed with them occasionally darting out to feed.

Juvenile red emperor snappers

It’s quite obvious what the advantage for the snappers is, protection, but I am not sure if there is any advantage the urchins get from this symbiosis, and what it would be.

Here is the video with the observation: