Thursday, May 08, 2008

Frogfish everywhere....


Perhaps it's just me, but it seems as though we're seeing a lot more frogfish these days... yahoo. There was a period a couple years back where it seemed as though I hadn't seen a frogfish in 2-3 years. So far this year we've been seeing them a lot (by lot, I mean several times a month). You never know why some fish seem to disappear for a while, I'm hoping seeing frogfish regularly is a trend that continues.

I found this little guy at a divesite right outside the harbor. It was on a non-descript coral head, so there's little chance I'd find it again if I tried, at least not in the same spot. This one was probabaly about an inch and a half long, smaller than a golfball anyway. They can get huge and tend to pick up colors to blend into the scenery as they grow.

One thing I didn't notice as I took the photo that I noticed after I looked at it later.... you can see it's little "fishing rod"!!!! Take a look at the center of it's forhead, above the mouth and between the eyes, and you'll see a little bump with what looks like a hair with a feather on the end coming out of it. Frogfish are a member of the angler family and have a lure they use to attract victims to in front of them. They'll hang out motionless, wiggle their lure, and when a small fish approaches to investigate they'll inhale it in a single gulp... sorta like me and Burger King Whoppers.

Later,

Steve

3 comments:

Neutral Dive Gear said...

Not sure if you have seen this story yet, just doing our little part to spread the word.

><)))*>

Keep diving!

_ndg

Anonymous said...

What a great face shot! I've had the same experience as you with frogfish: All or nothin'!

Bobbie

Steve said...

Thanks guys.

Steve