Male Jawfish (Opistognathus sp) incubating eggs in his mouth. This species is known as a paternal mouthbrooder.

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Male Jawfish (Opistognathus sp) incubating eggs in his mouth. This species is known as a paternal mouthbrooder. After spawning, the male will pick up the female's eggs and keep them in his mouth for a period of 7-10 days in order to give the embryos a greater chance of survival. Photo taken in the Lake Worth Lagoon, an estuary near the Palm Beach Inlet in Palm Beach County, FL.

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Size: 6144px × 4081px
Location: Lake Worth Lagoon, Singer Island, FL
Photo credit: © Michael Patrick O'Neill / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: beach, brooder, brooding, coral, eggs, embryo, fish, florida, gulf, incubating, island, jawfish, life, marine, mouth, mouthbrooder, mouthbrooding, opistognathus, orange, palm, parenting, paternal, reef, sea, singer, stream, tropical, underwater