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| Facts about Yellowhead jawfish |
Facts about Yellowhead jawfish
Yellowhead jawfish can be found in colonies of burrows around the edges of tropical reefs in the Western Atlantic. They use their large mouths to dig out the sand and maintain their burrows. Jawfish feed on zooplankton. During the day,they will hover over their burrows waiting for prey to drift by. Jawfish have to constantly maintain their burrows to keep them from caving in. The Yellowhead jawfish rarely venture far away from their burrows. Males can be territorial.
- A single fish occupies each burrow, except during mating season. A male may chase away other males that get too close to their burrow. At night, a jawfish will cover the opening of its burrow and remain inside, in order to be sheltered from predators.
- During mating season, after a female lays her eggs, the male collects them in his mouth. Males carry fertilized eggs inside their mouths until they hatch. They cannot feed during this time. Eggs hatch in 7 to 9 days. Larvae drift with the current until they grow large enough to settle at the bottom and build their own burrows.
- Jawfish can grow to about 4 inches (10 cm) long. They are preyed upon by many animals, such as lionfish. Small numbers are collected each year for the aquarium trade.