The “kiss of death” fighting style of the fish Neoclinus blanchardi.
These males use their huge and powerful mouths to fight. In addition, they don’t just use their mouths to attack their own kind. If you get close to the hiding place of the widemouth fish on the ocean floor, they may also suddenly rush out to attack you.
Studies show that the habitat of Neoclinus blanchardi is mainly concentrated in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of South America at a depth of 3 to 73m. This fish can be up to 30cm long. This fish has a habit of preferring temperate seas with many coral reefs.
They often choose to live in crevices on the ocean floor, discarded shells and even discarded canned goods.
This species is usually very protective of its territory.
This species has no scales, only the pectoral and pelvic fins have been restricted in development. The frill lives mainly in the hollows or crevices of the rocks in the sea, only sticking its head out.
This species is usually very protective of its territory. They are ready to fight any creature if they dare to invade their territory. When two fish with head fish fight, they will determine the winner by measuring the size of the mouth to see which one is bigger, that one will win.
In fact, these fish are not trying to hurt each other. The males often flaunt their wide mouth to intimidate the opponent mainly. Their mouths can open up to 4 times their size when closed. Of course, with their sharp teeth, they can still hurt opponents.
The Neoclinus blanchardi is not afraid of anything, not even humans.
This wide mouth is also sometimes detrimental when they feed. It did not generate the suction needed to pull the plankton toward the mouth. So the fish have to hunt small fish themselves or eat squid eggs.
After the female lays her young in the cave, the male takes over the responsibility of protecting the eggs. When threatened, fish often open their mouth wide to warn. If the enemy still ignores, be wary of the sharp teeth of this species. The rimhead fish has very poor vision, so it only recognizes enemies when they get very close.
Neoclinus blanchardi is quite “heavy”. It is not afraid of anything, including humans and is considered a “quite interesting hand” of the ocean.