Off the southern coast of Amami Oshima island, a male white-spotted pufferfish spends roughly a week building a sand mandala almost two metres across to attract a female for mating.

How this affects you

This behavior, first documented by divers in 2011, highlights how animals can use intricate architectural feats as courtship displays, and how human observation of remote natural phenomena can lead to the discovery of new species and the understanding of complex biological processes.