April is National Frog Month

Yes, that is correct – April is National Frog Month. However, this is not a post about the amphibian, but is all about the frogfish! Contrary to popular belief, it’s easy being green if you’re a frogfish. First of all, you can change colors from green to black, or red, or orange, or yellow, or brown, or white, or purple, or even blue! These colors help the frogfish mimic corals, sponges, algaes, or even rocks. Often a trusting fish become prey all too easily as they go to hide in the ‘coral’ or ‘rock’ only to then get eaten by the frogfish that has transformed . Frogfish gobble up their prey in 6 milliseconds. Frogfish actually have the fastest mouth in the sea. Their mouth is able to expand 12 times its size and they can easily eat prey 25 percent longer. They’re opportunistic and eat whenever possible. They tend to feast on smaller fish, crustaceans, or even other frogfish!

Another amazing mechanism of the frogfish is an antenna that dangles from their head. They’ll mimic the actions of a smaller animal (e.g., a worm or shrimp) with this antenna so that their own prey will swim right up to them. Don’t worry though, the lure will regenerate if eaten.

Frogfish do not have a swim bladder, but do have modified pectoral fins enabling them to ‘walk’ along the seafloor. See the video below to see this in action.

Frogfish live in the tropical and subtropical areas in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans.

It is the original footage from these hairy frog fish walking on the sand was made by Daan van Wijk in Indonesia. These scenes are from the movie Impressionesia”.