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National Geographic : 2005 Nov
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SURVIVAL Fluttering like a butterfly in front of sponge encrusted rock, a juvenile batfish (above) looks dangerously conspicuous-easy picking for predators. But the message it's sending is "Eat me and you will die." Its coal black body and vivid orange trim mimic the colors of a toxic flatworm. As adults, batfish turn silver with a few black stripes, far less flashy than Banggai cardinalfish (right, amid a beaded anemone). STRATEGIES Until five years ago these fish lived only around the Banggai Archipelago, 250 miles south of Lembeh. Then a few likely escaped into the strait from the holding pen of an aquarium-fish exporter, and their numbers exploded-an unplanned experiment biolo gists are monitoring. The newcomers find protection among the stinging tentacles of anemones or the spines of sea urchins. 104 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC * NOVEMBER 2005 PINNATEBATFISH:PLATAXPINNATUS;BANGGAICARDINALFISH:PTERAPOGONKAUDERNI
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