The grouper opens its giants jaws as the tiny bright blue wrasse feeds on any parasitesThis tiny fish looks like it's about to unwittingly swim into the gaping jaw of a hungry grouper.
The bright blue wrasse seems completely oblivious to his fate as the larger fish looms close behind him, apparently ready to pounce.
But, despite appearances, the little sea creature escaped unharmed. Far from being the grouper's lunch the wrasse is actually acting as an underwater toothbrush.
During the extraordinary cleaning ritual the grouper holds his enormous mouth open while the smaller fish feasts on any parasites inside.
Cor Bosman snapped these incredible shots while diving off the coast of the Solomon Islands, in the South Pacific.
The Dutch photographer, 39, said: 'The wrasse is completely inside the grouper's mouth but it's actually not being eaten, quite the contrary.
'The grouper is allowing the small cleaner wrasse into its mouth to clean off parasites.
'This is a symbiotic relationship based completely on trust. They both get a benefit: the grouper is getting rid of parasites, and the cleaner wrasse is getting a meal.
The grouper signals to the wrasse that it is safe to come and feed, letting it swim off after it has done its job'If the grouper ate the wrasse, it wouldn't get cleaned. It was very cool witnessing this behaviour.
'Normally if you approach a grouper that close, they tend to swim away. But this one allowed me very close, and in such a vulnerable position as well.
'I saw the two fish from a dozen yards away, and had a feeling something would happen so I approached, and just waited to see what happened.
'Once they got used to my presence, the grouper signalled the wrasse that it was allowing it to clean and that it could approach safely. This is all done with body language.'
With groupers growing to over a yard long and weighing over 220lbs, it's just as well they are friends.
Mr Bosman, from Amsterdam, travels all over the world with his wife Julie, also a photographer, to capture life under the water.
He said: 'Underwater photography is definitely our specialty. We travel about two months out of the year to far away places to photograph underwater life.
'We recently photographed Sperm Whales in Dominica, Tiger Sharks in the bahamas and tiny critters in Indonesia.
'We're been doing that since 1994. Both of us really like the joy of trying to find a specific animal in the water, and then trying to take a good photo of it.
'Underwater photography is a way for me and my wife to relax and unwind.'
source: dailymail
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