Aotearoa / New Zealand

We found males initiated courtship displays with females most of the time, using comical wiggles. This was unexpected because the wide-bodied pipefish gets its name from the broad, colourful, striped abdomen of the female – not the male.

Given this ornamentation, we expected females would approach males for courtship and display more often and for longer than males. Normally, the sex with more ornamentation in a species will lead the courtship display.