Author: Smithsonian Magazine

The common clownfish has three white stripes, which they “count” to identify other members of their species as potential threats, a new study suggests. Nick Hobgood under CC BY-SA 3.0 DEED Clownfish that live among sea anemones are not as kind as Pixar Finding Nemo can suggest. Reef-dwellers are actually very territorial, and they can be aggressive. “Just keep swimming” is not a mantra for life; it’s their signal to other fish—or even people—that are too close for comfort. “It’s literally among the most aggressive animals on our planet,” said Justin Rhodes, a marine neuroscientist at the University of Illinois…