They may be bottom dwellers, but male banded jawfish are arguably at the top of the heap among fish fathers.
In a picture by Steven Kovacs of Clewiston, Florida, a jawfish at Riviera Beach, Florida, plays proud papa, displaying the eggs he'll hold in his mouth till they hatch (
get a jawfish wallpaper).
— Photograph courtesy Steven Kovacs
Second Place, Marine Animal Portraiture
This invading alien ... er, flying tentacle beast ... er, Caribbean reef squid was photographed from below by Jerry Kane of Kailua, Hawaii, off the island of Bonaire.
Reaching about 8 inches (20 centimeters) in length, the squid can shift their body colors in short order for communication and protection from predators.
Third Place, Marine Animal Portraiture
A smaller form of minke found only in the Southern Hemisphere, the dwarfs grow to about 21 feet (6.5 meters) long and are hunted for their meat.
(
more minke whale pictures).
—Photograph courtesy Steffen Binke
clipped from: news.nationalgeographic.com 
