Frogfish

Frogfishes are any member of the anglerfish family Antennariidae, of the order Lophiiformes. Antennariids are known as anglerfish in Australia, where the term "frogfish" refers to members of the unrelated family Batrachoididae. Frogfishes are found in almost all tropical and subtropical oceans and seas around the world, the primary exception being the Mediterranean Sea. Frogfishes are small, short and stocky, and sometimes covered in spinules and other appendages to aid in camouflage. The camouflage aids in protection from predators and enables them to lure prey. Many species can change colour; some are covered with other organisms such as algae or hydrozoa. In keeping with this camouflage, frogfishes typically move slowly, lying in wait for prey, and then striking extremely rapidly, in as little as 6 milliseconds. Few traces of frogfishes remain in the fossil record, though Antennarius monodi is known from the Miocene of Algeria and Eophryne barbuttii is known from the Eocene of Italy. Frogfishes live in the tropical and subtropical regions of the Atlantic and Pacific, as well as in the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. Their habitat lies for the most part between the 20 °C isotherms, in areas where the surface level water usually has a temperature of or more. They extend beyond the 20 °C isotherms in the area of the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands, along the Atlantic coast of the United States, on the south coast of Australia and the northern tip of New Zealand, coastal Japan, around Durban, South Africa, and at Baja California, Mexico. The greatest diversity of species is in the Indo-Pacific region, with the highest concentration around Indonesia. In the small Lembeh Strait, north-east of Sulawesi, divers have found 9 different species. Frogfish live generally on the ocean floor around coral or rock reefs, at most to deep. A few exceptions to these general limits are known. The brackishwater frogfish is at home in ocean waters as well as brackish and fresh water around river mouths.