Some cichlid fish mothers snack on their own offspring to ensure their own survival. New research suggests that the mothers can boost their chemical defences by using antioxidants found in their own ...

In an extreme feat of parenting, some female cichlid fish carry their eggs and babies in their mouths for about two weeks. In this way, the young fish and fish-to-be are protected from predators in ...

Editor’s note: The study described in this news article was retracted on October 29, 2020. Prompted by a study posted at preprints.org questioning the origin of the eggs found in the mouth of a ...

Many fathers might find themselves with their hands full when looking after their children, but this fish has his mouth crammed full with scores of his offspring. Among yellow-headed jawfish - which ...

There are concerned, overprotective parents, and then there are cichlid fish. After a male cichlid fertilizes the female’s eggs, she holds her entire brood of embryos inside her mouth for two weeks ...

Raising babies can be exhausting—so much so that some mouthbrooding mothers snack on their young, according to a new study. A central African cichlid fish, Astatotilapia burtoni—commonly called Burton ...

A study of Australian fish that care for offspring through mouthbrooding shows that things underwater are not always as monogamous as they seem. By Elizabeth Preston Lurking among the underwater ...

Raising babies in your mouth is no guarantee that they’re your own — as some Australian mouthbrooding fish can attest 1. Males belonging to some species of river-dwelling fish guard their young by ...

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American I first encountered a male jawfish with a ...