Warty Frogfish

ANIMAL:
Warty Frogfish Antennarius maculatus

Type of Animal:
Frogfish

Habitat:
Reefs associated w/ sponges, rocky sea floors, coastal areas w/ plenty of algal growth near/on sponges, shipwrecks, jetties, artificial reefs

Location(s):
Indo-Pacific

Appearance:
Globulous extensible body, soft skin covered w/ small dermal spinules, very warty fish, coloration matches living environment & they can easily change color, angled pectoral fins, very well-camouflaged fish

Food/Diet:
Fish (as large as twice their size as well as each other), shrimp, crabs, clams

Status in Wild:
Stable

Conservation:
Not applicable

Lifestyle:
Solitary

Additional Info:

Called:
Male
Female
Young: Fry
Group: Solitary

Weight:
Male: 1-1.5 lbs
Female: 2.5-3 lbs

Gestation:
1 month 

Life Span:
5 years in captivity, 15-20 years in wild

Body Length:
Male: 3-4 in
Female: 4-5.9 in

Main predators are each other, other frogfish species, scorpionfish, lizardfish, & moray eels (1st 3 often taken in fights to death w/ whoever dies 1st being eaten).
 
These animals masters of camouflage coming in handy for catching prey (they’re ambush predators) & for concealing themselves from predators.
 
Also called Clown Frogfish, Clown Anglerfish, Galloping Clown Frogfish, Large-Spotted Angler, Wartface Anglerfish, Warty Anglerfish, Wartskin Frogfish, & Wartface Frogfish.
 
Prey lured w/ stalk between eyes copying movement of small prey animals.
 
They swim by jet propulsion, using backward-facing tube-like gill openings to propel itself rather than tail.
 
Post-spawning is very dangerous time as females often eat smaller males.
 
Females release thousands to tens of thousands of eggs.
 
Eggs encapsulated in ribbon-like buoyant mucus mass drifting for about a month until hatching.
 
Larvae/fry hatch in planktonic stage which lasts 1.5 months.
 
These fish are very shy.

Fun Fact(s):
Get anglerfish name due to 1st dorsal spine being modified as fishing rod.
 
These fish lack swim bladders, instead using modified pectoral fins to walk/gallop along sea floor. These fish don’t move very much.
 
They can change color to blend in w/ surroundings. Unlike chameleons, these color change transitions can last more than a month.
 
If camouflage doesn’t work, they’ll inflate body by swallowing water, lessening chance of being swallowed.
 
These fish exhibit biofluorescence.
 
Mouth opens/expands to width of bodies when engulfing/consuming prey.

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