Reef fish live and hunt as a team

Yellow saddle goatfish work together to catch their dinner, according to scientists.

When an individual chases its prey around a coral formation, others gather around to block escape routes.

The unusual co-ordinated behaviour was observed by scientists in the Red Sea, off the coast of Egypt.

The discovery, published in the journal Ethology, places the fish in an elite group of species known to hunt collaboratively.

Yellow saddle goatfish (Parupeneus cyclostomus) are tropical fish found in the Indo-Pacific region, an area that is thought to be home some of the world's richest marine life.

They have long whisker-like "barbels" protruding from their mouths, which they use to detect the movements of prey in coral reefs.

Co-ordinated action
Scientists from the University of Neuchatel, Switzerland, were studying the fish to find out more about their social structure.

Read on...

By Ella Davies Reporter, BBC Nature