Project Noah is a tool to explore and document wildlife and a platform to harness the power of citizen scientists everywhere.
Project Noah is a tool to explore and document wildlife and a platform to harness the power of citizen scientists everywhere.
Antennarius commerson
A. commerson (a.k.a. Commerson's Frogfish, Giant Angler) has a somewhat compressed, globular body, and sports different colors depending on their surroundings. It has a large, upward-directed mouth that is protrusible. True to its name, and like other frogfish species, it has a "fishing pole" with a lure, located on its head above its mouth. It has limb-like pectoral fins with an "elbow" joint. It feeds on small fish, and grows to about 35cm in length.
Reef-associated, preferring rocky bottoms, often found among sponges. Depth range: 5 to 70m. Widespread in the Indo-Pacific region.
Spotted this large specimen (about 30cm long) at a depth of 15m, off the northern coast of Talikud Island (dive site: Angel's Cove). It was nestled in between two barrel sponges, the color of which the frogfish almost perfectly matched.
Lat: 6.96, Long: 125.68
Spotted on Sep 1, 2012
Submitted on Sep 1, 2012
17 Comments
Thanks, Blogie, for your generous offer of photos! I may take you up on that. :-)
You are very welcome! What you do is amazing.
Thank you, Fyn.K!
AWESOME!
Thanks, nexttogone! :)
Amazing creature! Love the series!
Hi lori.tas. Maybe you couldn't see them because they were perfectly camouflaged? ;) But, you know, it's infinitely better seeing them in their natural habitats.
Well spotted. I try to find these in aquariums, where they are labeled, and half the time I still can't find them.
My pleasure, JeannePickles. :)
This is awesome! Thank you so much for sharing! :)
Thanks very much, Bernadette! It's wonderful that you're teaching kids about the creatures of the sea. If you need photos for your poem, feel free to use mine. :)
Thanks, Blogie, for your great collection of frogfish!! I can't decide which one is my favorite. I was writing a list poem for children about the fish in the Red Sea and just love all the crazy names I came across.
Thanks, Maria! I'm still very far from having a good collection of frogfish, though...
What an amazing and fascinating fish - thanks so much for posting this. Love your spottings!
Thanks, Bernadette and East End!
@Bernadette - They come in different shapes and sizes and colors. Do a search for "frogfish" on my collection page and you'll see those species I've already spotted. :)
Wow! Amazing images.
Excellent! I had been wondering what a frogfish looked like.