ADAPTATION
Sex Change

A surprising number of reef fish are hermaphrodites, being both male and female during their lifetime. Spotlight parrotfish are sequential hermaphrodites, born as females and later becoming males. Several females share one male for breeding; if the male dies, the largest female changes sex to replace it. The Caribbean golden hamlet is a simultaneous hermaphrodite: each individual has both male and female organs at the same time. During elaborate mating bouts, one lays eggs that the other fertilizes, and then they reverse roles.