A 50 Million year Old Wife (Enoplosidae). Exceptional preservation enables this fossil fish from the Eocene of Monte Bolca in northern Italy to retain the distinct vertical dark vertical stripes it had when alive. (Photo David R Bellwood)

Today the Old Wife is only found in southern Australia. The markings on the single living species are almost identical to those on its predecessor 50 million years ago.  Clearly, some fish patterns have not changed fashion over time. (Photo Joao Paulo Krajewski)

A juvenile damselfish (Pomacentrus amboinensis) displays a prominent ocellus on its dorsal fin. This ‘false eye’ may confuse predators and draw attention away from the real eye. (Photo David R Bellwood)

Faint but still visible. This 50 million year old damselfish (Palaeopomacentrus orphae) from the exceptional fossil deposits of Monte Bolca in Northern Italy still bears the faint mark of an ocellus on the dorsal fin. Did such dots help confuse predators so many years ago? Just a few million years after the last dinosaur walked the earth reef fishes had the main colour pattern ‘tricks’ in place with dark stripes to hide the real eye and ocelli to deceive. (Photo David R Bellwood)

The copperband butterflyfish (Chelmon rostratus). Fishes use colour to both inform and  mislead. With bands and an ocellus this fish uses two of the commonest ‘tricks’ to confuse predators. The fossil evidence shows these ‘tricks’ have been around for a long time. (Photo Joao Paulo Krajewski).

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