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.
