Eggs Over Easy – Brief Article
Miguel Vilar
No, this yellowhead jawfish isn’t stuffing himself for breakfast.
He’s taking care of his future offspring. After burrowing in the Caribbean seafloor to lay hundreds of eggs, the female jawfish splits, leaving dad to scoop up all the eggs in his mouth. He carries the mouthful for about seven days, until the eggs hatch.
During that week, the male spits out and scoops up eggs every few minutes to aerate them, or allow thin-walled eggs to absorb oxygen and nutrients as they fall through water. Jawfish are named for their big heads and large jaws. How else could jawfish dads keep all those eggs from becoming scrambled?
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