London Zoo: Lumpsucker dads, as we celebrate Father’s Day

Male lumpsuckers attract females by constructing nests to advertise their commitment to parenting and their skill at it. If a female is impressed enough with what he has built, she will lay on the order of 350,000 eggs, and then swim away, confident he has everything under control. He fertilizes the eggs, then spends the next 4-8 weeks taking care of all the offspring. Lumpsucker dads make sure the developing young are properly oxygenated by fanning them with their fins and protecting them from predators.

There are 30 species of lumpsucker fishes, ranging in size from 2 centimeters to 50 centimeters. The majority of species live on the bottom of the ocean at depths up to 1700 meters. A few pelagic species go deeper, but spend their time well above the ocean floor. These fishes are not well studied, but it is believed they all come to shallow intertidal areas to spawn.