Kingdom
The frogfish's scientific name is the Antennariide. So what is a fogfish a fish or a frog? Well it is a fish, but why the name? Well the frogfish's skin resembles those of a frog and its legs (an unusual feature for a fish) looks like what a frog has. Also the way they both squat in other terms stand it looks almost identical. But the biggest reason for the animal's name is because of how both animals hunt. The frogfish belongs to the animal kingdom but to categorize even farther it belongs the vertebrates. Now let's mention the classification of this animal.
🔘 Kingdom: Animalia (Animal)
☑️Phylum: Chordata
🔘Oder: Lophiiformes
☑️Family:Antennariide
🔘Genus: Hisitiophryne
🔘 Kingdom: Animalia (Animal)
☑️Phylum: Chordata
🔘Oder: Lophiiformes
☑️Family:Antennariide
🔘Genus: Hisitiophryne
Frog and Frogfish resemblance.
Adaptions
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The frogfish is a master of survival, with all it's adaptions. One of the many adaptions it has is it modified dorsal fin with a lure on top. The lure resembles the food of the frogfish's prey so they prey will come close the frogfish so it can suck it in. The lure is able to fold back between the fins when not in use, so it won't get damaged. Another adaption this animal has is it's flexible jawbone. This allows it to open up 12 times it original mouth size. This is good for the frogfish because once the lure lures it close to the frogfish it can open up it's mouth and suck it in. Another adaption it has is it's amazing camouflage. It's skin will match the surroundings coral colour also it has bumps on it's skin which makes it look exactly like the coral around it.
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The fogfish is carnivore meaning it eats strictly only living things. This animal is a lie-wait-predator meaning that it dosen't go to it's prey but waits for the prey to come to it instead. It is a master hunter using it's many features special adaptions to hunt. One of them is it's lure which looks like either a shrimp, fish or worm which is the prey of the frogfish's prey. Then with it flexible jawbone it will open up it's mouth more than 20 times it's original size sucking up it's prey in 6 milliseconds. You might be wondering why it's dosen't see it and run away well that because of it amazing camouflage and bumps covering it's body so it looks more like the coral around it. The frogfish doesn't have any teeth so it swallows it's food whole. The frogfish's usual diet consists of fish and other crustaceans. But since these creatures are cannibals they eat other frogfish. Another unusual part that consist of the the females diet is other male frogfish. After mating the male should retreat quickly because the female might eat it.
Predator
The frogfish dosen't have many predators. In fact it only has one known predator which is the moray eel. Yet it is rare to see this animal attacking or eating a frogfish. The reason the frogfish dosen't have many predators is probably because of it's camouflage. Also when it feels threatened it will puff up scaring away it's predator.
Life Cycle And Life Span
The frogfish's life cycle and life span aren't properly known yet. But since they're fish they go through these stages. First they lay eggs then hatch as larval. Next they'll become fries and after that juveniles. Finally they'll become adults. When female frogfish becomes pregnant it's abdomen will swell making her more buoyant. This will attract males which will nudge her to the surface, where the eggs will be layed. Then fertilized by the male forming a kind of raft. A female can lay 40 000 to 180 000 at a time.
Egg Raft
Habitat And Discovery
The Frogfish was discovered in coral reef in the Ambom Harbour in Indonesia, in 2008. The frogfish's habitat are mainly the coral reefs. This is because coral reefs coral reefs have plenty of sea creatures and good hiding spots so it can easily survive. They're found in the daylight zone of the ocean because there is plenty of sunlight making it nice and warm. This allows animals survive easily making it a good place for predators to hunt. These animals prefer to live in costal areas and also prefer to live near sponges. Also since coral reefs are found around the world they're found around the world too. These animals are mainly found near Indonesiaan and Malaysian reefs. But due to habitat loss they can be found in shipwrecks and artifical reefs.