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  • Five-lined cardinalfish (Cheilodipterus quinquelineatus) with mouthful of yellow eggs
    cardinalfish-with-yellow-eggs-in-mou..tiff
  • This is a pair of spotnape cardinalfishes (Ostorhinchus notatus) engaged in spawning. The female on the right has just released a clutch of eggs, and the male is fertilizing them. Wisps of the male’s sperm are visible. both coming out of the male and around the eggs. After fertilization, the male moves behind the female to take the eggs into his mouth for brooding. He will care for the eggs until maturity. The gestation period varies with water temperature, but hatchout takes place after approximately two weeks. Females in this situation eventually leave the male, but they first exhibit an odd behavior after laying eggs. They appear to harass the male, chasing him and targeting the eggs in his mouth. While avoiding these charges by the female, the male spits out and takes the eggs back into his mouth multiple times. This occurs at blinding speed. The purpose of this post-coital behavior is not clear. It appears almost as if the female is attempting to steal the eggs from the male.
    ostorhinchus-notatus-spawning-spotna...tif
  • Like other cardinalfish, spotnape cardinalfishes (Ostorhinchus notatus) are paternal mouthbrooders. When a pair of fish are ready to spawn, male and female align side-by-side as shown here. They repeat this behavior multiple times, until such time that the female is ready to push out a cluster of eggs. The female is in the foreground of this photo. Her swollen belly is clearly visible.
    ostorhinchus-notatus-spawning-spotna...tif
  • Like other cardinalfish, spotnape cardinalfishes (Ostorhinchus notatus) are paternal mouthbrooders. When a pair of fish are ready to spawn, male and female align side-by-side. As the female pushes out a cluster of eggs, the male fertlizes them, then rapidly moves behind the female to take the eggs into his mouth for brooding. Once the transfer of eggs is accomplished, the male will care for the eggs until maturity. The gestation period varies with water temperature, but hatchout takes place after approximately two weeks. Females in this situation eventually leave the male, but they first exhibit an odd behavior after laying eggs. They appear to harass the male, chasing him and targeting the eggs in his mouth. While avoiding these charges by the female, the male spits out and takes the eggs back into his mouth multiple times, as pictured here. The male has just turned quickly to evade the female (visible in the background) and spit out his mouthful of eggs, sucking them back into his mouth in a fraction of a second. The purpose of this post-spawning behavior is not clear. It appears almost as if the female is attempting to steal the eggs from the male.
    ostorhinchus-notatus-spawning-spotna...tif
  • Like other cardinalfish, spotnape cardinalfishes (Ostorhinchus notatus) are paternal mouthbrooders. When a pair of fish are ready to spawn, male and female align side-by-side. As the female pushes out a cluster of eggs, the male fertlizes them, then rapidly moves behind the female to take the eggs into his mouth for brooding. Once the transfer of eggs is accomplished, the male will care for the eggs until maturity. The gestation period varies with water temperature, but hatchout takes place after approximately two weeks. Females in this situation eventually leave the male, but they first exhibit an odd behavior after laying eggs. They appear to harass the male, chasing him and targeting the eggs in his mouth. While avoiding these charges by the female, the male spits out and takes the eggs back into his mouth multiple times, as pictured here. The male has just turned quickly to evade the female (visible in the background) and spit out his mouthful of eggs, sucking them back into his mouth in a fraction of a second. The purpose of this post-spawning behavior is not clear. It appears almost as if the female is attempting to steal the eggs from the male.
    ostorhinchus-notatus-spawning-spotna...tif
  • Like other cardinalfish, spotnape cardinalfishes (Ostorhinchus notatus) are paternal mouthbrooders. When a pair of fish are ready to spawn, male and female align side-by-side. As the female pushes out a cluster of eggs, the male fertlizes them, then rapidly moves behind the female to take the eggs into his mouth for brooding. Pictured here is the moment of transfer, with the male below the female, taking the cluster of fertilized eggs into his mouth. At 100% magnification, the eggs that are still inside the female and are just about to emerge are visible. Once the transfer of eggs is accomplished, the male will care for the eggs until maturity. The gestation period varies with water temperature, but hatchout takes place after approimately two weeks. Females in this situation eventually leave the male, but they first exhibit an odd behavior after laying eggs. They appear to harass the male, chasing him and targeting the eggs in his mouth. While avoiding these charges by the female, the male spits out and takes the eggs back into his mouth multiple times. This occurs at blinding speed. The purpose of this post-coital behavior is not clear. It appears almost as if the female is attempting to steal the eggs from the male.
    ostorhinchus-notatus-spawning-spotna...tif
  • Like other cardinalfish, spotnape cardinalfishes (Ostorhinchus notatus) are paternal mouthbrooders. When a pair of fish are ready to spawn, male and female align side-by-side. As the female pushes out a cluster of eggs, the male fertlizes them, then rapidly moves behind the female to take the eggs into his mouth for brooding. Pictured here is the moment of transfer, with the male below the female, taking the cluster of fertilized eggs into his mouth. At 100% magnification, wisps of sperm are visible just forward of the male’s eye. Once the transfer of eggs is accomplished, the male will care for the eggs until maturity. The gestation period varies with water temperature, but hatchout takes place after approximately two weeks. Females in this situation eventually leave the male, but they first exhibit an odd behavior after laying eggs. They appear to harass the male, chasing him and targeting the eggs in his mouth. While avoiding these charges by the female, the male spits out and takes the eggs back into his mouth multiple times. This occurs at blinding speed. The purpose of this post-coital behavior is not clear. It appears almost as if the female is attempting to steal the eggs from the male.
    ostorhinchus-notatus-spawning-spotna...tif
  • Blackstripe cardinalfish (Apogon nigrofasciatus) with mouth open. Ambon, Indonesia
    Apogon-nigrofasciatus-blackstripe-ca...tif
  • Banggai cardinalfish (Pterapogon kauderni) with hatchlings in its mouth. This is one of only two known fish species whose babies return to the parents at night. The other species is the convict fish (Pholidichthys leucotaenia). Lembeh Strait, North Sulawesi, Indonesia.
    endangered-Banggai-cardinalfish-Pter...tif
  • Juvenile pajama cardinalfish hiding among coral in the calm and safe shallow-water environment of Mandarin Fish Lake in Palau
    juvenile-pajama-cardinalfish-Sphaera...tif
  • Pictured here is a pair of spotnape cardinalfish (Ostorhinchus notatus) moments after the transfer of fertilized eggs to the male’s mouth during spawning. These fish are paternal mouthbrooders, meaning that the male holds the eggs in his mouth until they hatch. Females in this situation eventually leave the male, but they first exhibit an odd behavior after laying eggs. Shown here, the female (below) is engaged in what appears to be harassment of the male (above), which has their eggs in his mouth. The female chases the male, repeatedly appearing to target the eggs in his mouth. While avoiding these charges by the female, the male spits out and takes the eggs back into his mouth multiple times at blinding speed. The purpose of this post-spawning behavior is not clear. It appears almost as if the female is attempting to steal the eggs from the male.
    ostorhinchus-notatus-spawning-spotna...tif
  • Goldbelly cardinalfish (Apogon apogonides) aerating eggs in its mouth
    goldbelly-cardinalfish-eggs-apogon-a...tif
  • Coral cardinalfish (Siphamia corallicola) with a mouthful of orange eggs
    Siphamia-corallicola-coral-cardinalf...tif
  • Banggai cardinalfish (Pterapogon kauderni) with clutch of eggs in its mouth, eyes of the developing embryos visible. These fish are listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List. Lembeh Strait, North Sulawesi, Indonesia.
    Pterapogon-kauderni-endangered-Bangg...tif
  • Painted frogfish (Antennarius pictus) eating a cardinalfish in the muck of Lembeh Strait, North Sulawesi, Indonesia
    painted-frogfish-Antennarius-pictus-...tif
  • White-jawed Cardinalfish (Pseudamia amblyuroptera) encountered at 15m to 25m depth during a blackwater dive just off the reef at Short Dropoff in Palau. This fish was about 10cm in length, suggesting that it is an adult or near adult. The fish was hanging vertically in the water. It showed no concern with divers being present, making no effort to swim away. It also never adopted a horizontal position.
    pseudamia-amblyuroptera-white-jawed-...tif
  • Goldbelly cardinalfish (Apogon apogonides) aerating eggs that it was carrying in its mouth.
    goldbelly-cardinalfish-eggs-apogon-a...tif
  • This is a Banggai cardinalfish (Pterapogon kauderni) with juveniles in its mouth. This is one of only two species of marine fishes whose babies return to the parents at night. This species is native to Banggai Island in Indonesia, but has since been introduced to many other areas, most likely via the pet trade.
    pterapogon-kauderni-with-juveniles-b...tif
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