WORLD BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY DAY The Prophet has interviewed the pufferfish, a new species of fish discovered in 2015 on how he creates his stunning underwater sand mandalas.

I create intuitively, I never know how the final mandala will end up. I didn’t study this art, it is in my bones, in my very being. It emerges from the depths of my soul.

I start by finding a mate, sutiable marriage material. Then, under her gaze, I start creating. I choose a quiet spot, far from coral reefs and human settlements: what I’m creating is not only a mandala, it is to be a home for the eggs that my Beloved will lay there. I have heard of Tibetan sand mandalas, which have to be destroyed the moment they are ready, but mine is different: it has to withstand the test of time. The sand also has to be fine for sculpting, but not too fine – it would be blown away by underwater currents. Therefore, location is of utmost importance.

Then, I start wiggling my body and my fins rhythmically, moving from the center of the circle outwards, creating waves in the sand in the course. At times, I lie down in the sand and wiggle about there, at times, I just use my fins to make these. It is a long, arduous process. I never “zoom out”, I never need to stand back and look at the progress, nor do I need to make corrections. My body knows what it has to do. This is a long tradition, it has been passed down to us by countless generations of pufferfish. My wife look on, patiently, from the sides as I do my dance.

Creating for me is a natural process, like breathing. I never think about it, or analyse it, that is why I was utterly surprised when I met a few large black things with four long flippers, who repeatedly came back and pointed at it excitedly. This was a few years ago. Then this year, I met these things again, and they said that my mandalas were works of architecture. They said that the ridges and grooves of my mandala minimise ocean current at the centre of the nest. This protects the eggs from the turbulent waters and possibly predators too.

I was surprised, and somewhat happy and proud at this, but then humbleness kicked in. This creation – just as all the best creations – has nothing to do with “me”, with the ego, I am simply part of a long tradition, and it is this instinct that should be celebrated instead, not the artist.

Yours truly,
a pufferfish.

Pufferfish (Torquigener albomaculosus)

Scientists recently solved a 20-year-old mystery under the sea and discovered a new fish. Intricate ‘crop circles’ with geometric designs about six feet (2 meters) in diameter were found on the seafloor off the coast of Amami-Ōshima Island. They turn out to be the work of this new species of pufferfish. Males construct these circles as spawning nests by swimming and wriggling in the seafloor sand.
The nests, used only once, are made to attract females. The nests have double edges and radiating troughs in a spoke-like geometry. The design isn’t just for show. Scientists discovered the ridges and grooves of the circle serve to minimise ocean current at the centre of the nest. This protects the eggs from the turbulent waters and possibly predators too.