The frogfish's scientific name is Antennariide. Frogfish are a favorite of scuba divers all over the world and we’re fortunate enough to have them in the Red Sea. These weird little creatures with a face only a mother could love have many strange adaptations that make it an incredibly efficient predator and some that make it just plain comical.

 

They generally ignore divers and photographers even when they’re extremely close and very often carry on ‘fishing’ despite the close proximity but they do let you know when they’ve had enough, the yawn that every photographer likes to capture is a threat display although they have little to back up the threat apart from possibly whipping you with its lure.

 

The frogfish's scientific name is Antennariide. Frogfish are a favorite of scuba divers all over the world and we’re fortunate enough to have them in the Red Sea. These weird little creatures with a face only a mother could love have many strange adaptations that make it an incredibly efficient predator and some that make it just plain comical.

 

They generally ignore divers and photographers even when they’re extremely close and very often carry on ‘fishing’ despite the close proximity but they do let you know when they’ve had enough, the yawn that every photographer likes to capture is a threat display although they have little to back up the threat apart from possibly whipping you with its lure.So what is a frogfish a fish or a frog? Well it is a fish, but why the name? Well the frogfish's skin resembles those of a frog and its legs (an unusual feature for a fish) looks like what a frog has. Also the way they both squat in other terms stand it looks almost identical. But the biggest reason for the animal's name is because of how both animals hunt. The frogfish belongs to the animal kingdom but to categorize even farther, it belongs the vertebrates.

 

 

The frogfish is a master of survival, with all its adaptations. One of the many adaptations it has - is a modified dorsal fin with a lure on top. The lure resembles the food of the frogfish's prey so the prey will come close so the frogfish can suck it in. The lure is able to fold back between the fins when not in use, so it won't get damaged. Another adaption this animal has is its flexible jawbone. This allows it to open up 12 times it original mouth size. This is good for the frogfish because once the lure lures it close to the frogfish it can open up its mouth and suck it in. Another adaptation it has is its amazing camouflage. Its skin will match the surrounding coral color also it has bumps on its skin which makes it look exactly like the coral around it.

 

The frogfish is carnivore meaning it eats strictly only living things. This animal is a lie-wait-predator meaning that it doesn’t go to its prey but waits for the prey to come to it. It is a master hunter using many own features specially adaptations to hunt. One of them is their lure which looks like a shrimp, fish or worm which is the frogfish's prey. Then with it flexible jawbone it will open up the mouth more than 20 times of its original size and sucking up its prey in 6 milliseconds! You might be wondering why preys doesn’t see it and run away is because of its amazing camouflage and bumps covering its body that it looks more like the coral around it. The frogfish doesn't have any teeth so it swallows any food as awhole. The frogfish's usual diet consists of fish and other crustaceans. But since these creatures are cannibals they eat other frogfish. Another unusual part that consists of the female’s diet is other male frogfish. After mating the male should retreat quickly because the female might eat it!

 

The frogfish doesn’t have many predators. In fact it only has one known predator which is the moray eel. Yet it is rare to see this animal attacking or eating a frogfish. It is probably because of its camouflage. Also when it feels threatened it will puff up scaring away their predator.

 

The frogfish's life cycle and life span aren't properly known yet. But since they're fish they go through these stages. First they lay eggs then hatch as larval. Next they'll become fries and after that juveniles. Finally they'll become adults. When female frogfish becomes pregnant, her abdomen will swell making her more buoyant. This will attract males which will nudge her to the surface, where the eggs will be laid and then fertilized by the male forming a kind of raft. A female can lay 40 000 to 180 000 at a time.

 

The frogfish's habitat is mainly the coral reefs. This is because coral reefs have plenty of sea creatures and good hiding spots so it can easily survive. They're found in the daylight zone of the ocean because there is plenty of sunlight making it nice and warm. This allows animals to survive easily making it a good place for predators to hunt. These animals prefer to live in coastal areas and also prefer to live near sponges. Found at the Red Sea and the Indo-Pacific region.

 

Truly a weird yet wonderful creature, to date there’re 49 different species of frogfish and plenty waiting in pickle jars to be formally identified. So take a closer look and you may see fish fishing!