DIVE LOG JUNE 2025 issue 412

Blink and you miss it John Magee

Frogfish

is so large and flexible, it can eat fish twice its own size. Frogfish are generally solitary animals except for when they want to mate. The mating ritual starts well before the eggs are fertilised as the male will guard a female for many weeks whilst the eggs are developing. Once the eggs are ready, the male will start to nudge the female’s abdomen, increasing in intensity until a final shove will push the female up into the water column and cause her to release thousands of eggs. The male will immediately fertilise them and they will then form into a ribbon like clump that will float for a few days until finally sinking. That is, if nothing eats them all first! For those lucky enough to survive the egg stage, the juveniles will start to hatch within just a few days, already equipped with a fully functioning lure of their own, ready to start their new lives as the ultimate hairy predator.

L ooking like an extra from The Muppets Show and with the worst hair do in the ocean, the hairy frogfish has got to be one of the strangest fish in the ocean. With individuals that match their specific living environments, they must also have a chance at the title for best camouflage. They are found many different habitats and waters around the world, both tropical and subtropical from the Indian Ocean all the way to the middle of the Pacific. Hairy frogfish have very soft skin covered in small spines or thorns called spinules that look like hairs rather than spines. Their ability to change colour and patterns is not as fast as something like an octopus, but still impressive. Over the period of two weeks, if they move habitats, their colours and patterns will change to fit their new environment so that they can continue their ambush lifestyle. Frogfish of all kinds are formidable predators, despite their docile appearance. Unlike most fish, frogfish don’t swim, they walk. Fish generally use a swim bladder to control their position in the water column, but frogfish don’t have one of these specialised organs! Instead, they must rely on their strong front fins to walk or awkwardly hop around their environment. This means that chasing fish is out of the question so their way around this is to trick them. Frogfish have an extra-long spine on their dorsal fin that looks like a worm. By waving this bait back and forth in front of their faces, they can lure unsuspecting fish very close to their mouths. Once there, they open their extremely wide mouths so fast that they create a vacuum, sucking the water, and prey, into their awaiting jaws. Frogfish can eat prey items far bigger than you would suspect their stomach

Giant Yellow Frogfish (Antennarius commersoni

Striated Anglerfish (Antennarius striatus

Painted Frogfish (Antennarius pictus

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Dive Log Australasia #412 June 25

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