Hunter Biden shows off his back tattoo while frolicking on the beach with son Beau - as the surprising meaning behind the ink is revealed

Hunter Biden played the role of doting dad this week while frolicking on the Malibu shores with son Beau Jr. 

DailyMail.com spotted the First Son, 54, laughing with the four-year-old boy he shares with wife Melissa Cohen. Despite looming federal trials, Hunter appeared carefree, playfully tugging his son toward the waves while almost face planting.

He wore short black swim trunks and went shirtless, proudly showed off his striking back tattoo of several long dark lines, which could resemble claw marks. 

But DailyMail.com can reveal that the large ink is actually a drawing of the Finger Lake region in upstate New York, where his late mother Neilia Hunter Biden was born.

DailyMail.com spotted Hunter Biden enjoying the Malibu shores with four-year-old son Beau Jr on Tuesday 

The First Son wore black swim trunks and went shirtless, proudly showed off his striking back tattoo

Hunter played the role of doting dad this week while he played in the ocean with his son Beau Jr

DailyMail.com can reveal the sentimental meaning behind the ink and how it's a tribute to his late mother

Despite looming federal tax charges, Hunter appeared carefree as he ran from the chilly waters of Malibu 

Hunter appeared carefree, playfully tugging his son toward the waves while almost face planting

Hunter could be seen urging his son toward the waves. He shares four-year-old Beau with wife Melissa Cohen 

The Finger Lakes are a group of 11 long and narrow lakes that run north and south. 

Hunter has made several odes to the region through his tattoo and businesses. 

One of his personal companies, Owasco, is named after one of the lakes. 

His consultancy firm, run with Biden family friend Eric Schwerin, Rosemont Seneca, takes the name 'Seneca' from a second finger lake. 

Another of his companies used for his shady overseas business deals, Skaneateles, is named after one of the finger lakes in Onondaga County, New York. 

Skaneateles is where his mother and President Biden's first wife Neilia Hunter Biden was raised. She tragically died at 30 years old in a car crash in 1972 along with their one-year-old daughter Naomi. 

The pair were killed when their car was struck by a tractor-trailer as she took the kids - including Hunter and older brother Beau -  to pick out a Christmas tree. 

Hunter was only three at the time and critically injured along with Beau, who died of brain cancer in 2015.

His mother and sister are buried at the cemetery at Joseph on the Brandywine in Wilmington, Delaware, where Hunter and the rest of the Biden clan visit every year to pay their respects. 

Hunter's late mother Neilia Hunter Biden was born in the Finger Lake region of Skaneateles

The large ink is actually a drawing of the Finger Lake region in upstate New York, where his late mother was born and raised

Hunter has made several odes to the region through his tattoo and businesses, naming three of his shady companies after the lakes 

Hunter later covered up in a t-shirt and cap, running along the beach and looking up with adorable Beau 

Hunter is known to show off the sentimental ink.  

According to texts and photos obtained from his abandoned laptop, he's taken several mirror selfies of his bare backside and sent them to girlfriends. 

On November 26, 2018, Hunter and one of his girlfriends, Allie Kennedy, were texting each other raunchy pictures.

Hunter sent her a naked photo showing his tattoo and bare bottom, writing 'I love this tattoo.'

Other selfies were taken in a Malibu AirBnB he rented in September 2018. He facetimed a female friend to show off the tats.

Videos from the trip show Hunter dancing shirtless, stripping naked and sliding down a waterslide into a pool where prostitutes surrounded him. 

His British artist friend, Phillipa Horan, once painted a nude portrait of Hunter from behind, gesturing to his back tattoos, and sent him a picture of it in October 2018.

According to texts and photos obtained from his abandoned laptop, he's taken several mirror selfies of his bare backside and sent them to girlfriends

Hunter was snapped prancing around a pool naked and slapping his own bottom in 2018. His back tattoo is clearly visible 

On November 26, 2018, Hunter and one of his girlfriends, Allie Kennedy, were texting each other raunchy pictures. Hunter sent her a naked mirror selfie showing his tattoo and bare bottom, writing 'I love my tattoo'

From these exclusive photos, the First Son appears to have not a care in the world despite being up to his neck in legal turmoil.

Just last week Judge Mark Scarsi determined the three felony charges and six misdemeanor charges for tax evasion could move forward.

This came despite Hunter's attorneys showing up to federal court in Los Angeles last month to urge the judge to consider dismissal of the nine tax charges brought by special counsel David Weiss.

The charges stem from what federal prosecutors say was a four-year scheme to skip out on paying the $1.4million he owed to the IRS and instead use the money to fund an 'extravagant lifestyle' that by his own admission included drugs and alcohol.

The charges span the 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 tax years.

Meanwhile, Hunter has also been charged in Delaware with lying in October 2018 on a federal form for gun purchases when he swore he wasn't using or addicted to illegal drugs. He was addicted to crack cocaine at the time and is also accused of possessing the gun illegally. He's pleaded not guilty in that case. 

The Justice Department says Hunter faces up to 17 years in prison for the tax charges and 25 years for the gun charges if convicted, in dual cases that could have a devastating impact on his father's presidential campaign.