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Title: Onset Of Spawning. Cayman Islands.
Filename: CAY12_am-19182.jpg
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Boulder star coral (Orbicella faveolata, previously Montastraea annularis) spawning at night in late summer. This close up photo shows the very start of the the release of bundles of eggs and sperm. Almost all the polyps still have their bundles inside. Three of the polyps in the centre of the frame are gaping open having just released their bundles. The much smaller balls close to the released bundles are probably eggs that have broken free. East End, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, British West Indies. Caribbean Sea.
- boulder star coral: Montastraea annularis
- British West Indies
- Caribbean Sea
- Cayman Islands
- coral reef
- eggs
- Grand Cayman
- macro
- reproduction
- sex
- tropical
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