The father-to-be

takes on the role of master architect

🍀

He creates a symmetrical maze of dunes for an audience of one: his potential mate. If she approves of his design, then...

It’s like a sand mandala

He sifts the finest sand for the center and decorates the ridges with shells, creating a sacred space just for a chance at love. Once the eggs are laid, he lets the currents wash his hard work away.

Male white-spotted pufferfish (Torquigener albomaculosus) off Japan’s Amami Ōshima Island spend about a week meticulously carving large, geometric circles into the sandy seafloor as courtship nests to attract females. These “mystery circles” are roughly 2 meters wide, built by a fish only about 10–12 cm long, and serve both as a visual display and a spawning site once a female approves the design