Mouth Almighty

Interesting Info

• The mouth almighty is found across northern Australia — from the Kimberley region of WA through the Northern Territory to Cape York Peninsula in Queensland — and also in southern New Guinea.
• Its body is pale brown to olive with darker mottling, blending well against sandy or gravelly river bottoms.
• The species is named for its huge, gaping mouth, which makes up nearly a third of its head length.
• Adults are ambush predators, using their oversized mouth to gulp down prey such as shrimp, small fish, tadpoles, and aquatic insects.
• They often lie motionless near snags or submerged vegetation, darting out with lightning speed when prey passes by.
• Their large gape means they can swallow surprisingly big meals — fish nearly half their own body length.
• They are usually solitary and territorial, especially during breeding when males guard their nesting spots before taking eggs into their mouths.
• Breeding occurs in the wet season. Females lay clutches of large eggs on hard surfaces like rocks or logs, which are then taken into the male’s enormous mouth.
• Males practice mouthbrooding, carrying and protecting the eggs until they hatch — one of the most striking parental care strategies in Australia’s freshwater fishes.
• Hatchlings are released as fully formed juveniles rather than drifting larvae, which helps them survive in unstable floodplain habitats.
• The lifespan is believed to be around 5–7 years, similar to other medium-sized freshwater predators.