On the hunt for eggs today? The banded jawfish (Opistognathus macrognathus) has a mouthful! Banded jawfish dads-to-be carry eggs in their mouth. This behavior—which helps protect offspring from predators—is known as mouthbrooding. To attract females, males do a “dance” that involves a series of sweeping movements and fin-flashing. They even open their mouths as wide as possible to boast their mouthbrooding potential!
Photo: coralreefdreams, CC BY 4.0, iNaturalist