Definition of Term

ovophile

(English) Members of the Cichlidae where the male excavates a pit in his territory for the eggs. The female takes these eggs into her mouth. In some species, the female attempts to suck up egg dummies on the male, the male then releases sperm that the female inadvertently takes into her mouth to fertilise the eggs, e.g. in Aulonocara, Haplochromis and Pseudotropheus.

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