open-mouthed

Mobula rays feed by swimming open-mouthed through plankton-rich regions of the ocean and filtering plankton particles into their gullet as water streams into their mouths and out through their gills.

But for a few hours a day, the 4-month-old pygmy hippo springs to life, gumming on leaves, zooming around the compound and tossing her head in a silent, open-mouthed roar.

Like colossal, synchronised swimmers, they lunge through the middle of the bubble net open-mouthed.

While meteorologists say the forecast between now and the start of the Games is for hot and sunny weather that will help keep waterborne bacteria levels down, the Olympic organizing committee has confirmed there are backup plans in place if the Seine is deemed unsuitable for competitive swimming — which, as many commentators have noted, involves concerted open-mouthed gasping for air.

“We all stood there open-mouthed as she loaded him into the car.”