Saturday, August 23, 2008

Photohunter: Wrinkled Frogfish




This is one of my favorite fishes, the frogfish. They are related to the anglerfishes and have a lure to entice little fishes, like true anglers. Unlike the other anglers these guys are found in deeper waters hanging out on reefs, but not as deep as the true anglers who are also pelagic. Also, they are not ones for swimming. Their fins have an elbow-like joint which allows them to climb on the reefs. Apparently, they can jet-propel themselves by sucking in water and pushing it out the small gill opening behind the second set of fins [1]. They can glide for a good distance before settling on the reef.

They are ambush predators, lurking on the reef looking like a lumpy rock or sponge. An unwary fish may settle next to them, or be attracted by the small waving lure... then snap. The frogfish can expand its mouth and guts to a considerable degree and swallow fish almost as large as itself [1,2].

14 comments:

Flo said...

Very cool!! I love those fishes too. Being a marine biologist they fascinate me.

Mine is up over at Flo's Place

Rebecca Mecomber said...

That's a weird fish! Great for today's theme!

My Photo Hunt is up, too! Please visit and leave your link. :) http://newyorktraveler.net/photo-hunters-wrinkled/

Rebecca (Ramblings by Reba) said...

I've never seen that kind of fish...

me ann my camera said...

Well I am certainly a bit more knowledgeable today about Frogfish, actually 100% more knowledgeable as I had never heard of these interesting fish before. Nice 'wrinkled' post.

Anonymous said...

cool fish

sammawow said...

Wow, that is a very cool fish! Great for today's theme!

Dragonstar said...

Fascinating! Great wrinkles, too.

Anonymous said...

I have to tell you, I am most impressed with your blog. I am a teacher, and I have just been teaching about Gerald Durrell, the author of My Family and Other Animals. I am going to recommend your blog to my students.
It is excellent!
- I put another comment on your bottle tree post, about Australia.

Brine Queen said...

Thank you Leslie. I think that the diversity of life is fascinating, and try to convey that here. I aim to make the knowledge accessible for everybody. I am a little lazy about posting though...

Oh, and I am very jealous that you got to live in Queensland, I’ve only been to visit for a bit.

Baker Watson said...

Great post. Imagine, a fish not made for swimming. Now that is cool. As always you have an interesting take on the theme.


Baker
(Thanks for the visit and comments earlier - They are always appreciated)

jams o donnell said...

I'd not heard of this fish before. THanks for sharing! Have a great weekend

Anonymous said...

i love marine sealife too. :) that's a gorgeous shot n i love your footer pix of the crab. :) thanks for stopping by!

Colin Campbell said...

Lovely shot and very different perspective.

amazingmusings.com said...

haven't seen such fish before. thanks for sharing!