Why these colorful fish engage in mouth-to-mouth showdowns
Colorful fish called sarcastic fringeheads have incredible confrontations where they open their fluorescent mouths. Research suggests these displays may help avoid fights.
When they meet, sarcastic fringeheads can get mouthy. These bug-eyed, bright-lipped fish often open their giant jaws to show off the psychedelic hues splashed across the inside of their mouths. And they can get into fights.
“This species has a very wide gape, which means they might have evolved to have some special function,” says Watcharapong Hongjamrassilp, a biologist at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand, and a National Geographic Explorer. They are able to open so widely due to their special jawbones, which can extend far past their faces, unlike those in most fish.
But why these creatures have such loud mouths and what they use them for hasn’t been clear. Now, new research published October 6 in
