Big slimy lips are the secret to this fish’s coral diet
Imaging study shows how tubelip wrasses slurp coral snot
SMOOCHES Scanning electron microscope images show the differences between the lips of a coral-eating wrasse species (left) and one that dines on a more mundane diet of crabs and other invertebrates (right). While teeth are thought of as a key factor in the evolution of fish feeding strategies, the new study implies that lips are important, too.
V. Huertas and D. Bellwood/Current Biology 2017
Tubelip wrasses eat dangerously, daring to dine on sharp corals lined with stinging cells.