Juvenile Fish

Colin Marshall · Issue 77, Mar/Apr 2014 · pp. 51–55

We’ve all seen them. The teenager who is wearing something so weird, often with a haircut that is best described as bizarre, you don’t know whether to laugh or cry with despair for the fate of the world. Watching these young oddities, I sometimes ask myself whether there are any similarities between human teenagers and the juveniles of the marine world. I had a look back in my image files, and found a few examples of the different marine species, in the transition from juveniles to adults. It seems there are plenty of examples of where juvenile marine life is as “weird” as human teenagers, from the perspective of the adult. This article discusses the possible biological or evolutionary themes regarding why juvenile and adult marine creatures are so different. Then turning to the differences between human teenagers and adults – are there any similarities? Ridiculous clothes serve a purpos…