Learn more about the mouth almighty!

Did you know that males of this species incubate eggs and hatchlings in their mouth?

The mouth almighty is part of the cardinalfish family. This family is primarily marine, but the mouth almighty is a freshwater species typically found in ponds and slow-moving waters of northern Australia. It lurks in dense vegetation, waiting motionless for its next meal. As the name implies, this ambush predator has a large mouth used to engulf any small fish or invertebrate that gets too close.

However, this fish’s cavernous mouth also has a gentler function. When breeding, the male takes up the female’s sack of eggs and incubates them in his mouth for about two weeks—a process known as mouthbrooding. After the eggs hatch, the developing fry will continue to stay in the safety of the male’s mouth for about another week. During this time, the male does not eat.