Wild News: Frogfish
WILD FACTS
“Frogfish Are Weird – Just Plain Weird” by Robin Aiello
There are more species of frogfish than you would guess – somewhere around 48 species.
They come in all shapes and sizes and colours. In my opinion, they have the best camouflaging abilities of almost any fish. Not only do they change colour as they grow, but adults also change colour to blend in with wherever they are. Since frogfish tend to find a place that suits them – like a large sponge or piece of coral – and hang out there for weeks to months, their colour change is slow, not like an octopus or squid. Typically, it takes more than 2 weeks for them to change their shade of colour. If you think about it - the entire frogfish’s existence is spent trying to look like something else.
All frogfish are dangerously antisocial and don’t play well with others. Basically, frogfish have a habit of trying to eat anything that they come in contact with – and this can include other frogfish – yes…they are cannibalistic.
So how do cannibalistic fish mate? Carefully…and quickly!
A male will spot a bloated pregnant female and slowly approach her. He does his best to showoff for her – fanning out his fins, opening and closing his mouth, and violently shaking his body. This may serve a couple of purposes – 1) to look flashy and ‘sexy’ and 2) to appear as large as he can so she won’t try to eat him.
If he succeeds and impresses her – she will ‘accept him’, which means she will let him stand next to her (a frogfish’s version of holding hands). But if he fails to impress – she will most likely try to eat him.
Once ‘accepted’, the male starts bouncing erratically up and down, using his stumpy pectoral fins (that look a lot like little pudgy hands), to propel himself around and around the female. This actually helps to lift her off the seafloor into the water column. Once they are about a meter (3ft) off the ground, she releases her eggs – which is such a strong squirt that it sends her into a fast spin. As she is doing that, the male also starts spinning rapidly while fertilising the eggs. When they are finished, they literally bounce back to the seafloor. But it’s not over yet – they must hurry to scuttle away from one another, because the males are known to turn and eat the female if she stays too close (Really…now that’s very rude!)
WILD STORIES
A Splendid Discovery by Natalia Baechtold
Multiple time a year Natalia and Thomas reunite with family and friends in Hat Head on the mid-north coast of New South Wales, to enjoy the natural beauty of the National Park, where the Korogoro creek mouth gaps into the Pacific ocean. This year came with a splendid surprise, with a discovery of a Striated frogfish in a place you'd never think to look for a frogfish.
Positive Impact Interview
In our Positive Impact Interviews, Wild Earth Expeditions (WE) wants to give a voice and a personal face to the individuals affected by the novel coronavirus pandemic. WE wish to shed light on the positive impacts of isolation in their lives - to the environment, communities, and wildlife that they are directly connected to.
In our first Positive Impact Interview, Kirsty Richards from Atmosphere Resort in the Philippines shares her knowledge and experiences related to Frogfish and muck diving and her projection for the positive effects for next year.
Kirsty Richards - Atmosphere Resort Dumaguete, Philippines
Explorer Experiences
Explorer Experience shared by Lisa Dixon
Lisa shares how she felt when she discovered this giant Frogfish in Layang Layang on our Borneo Expedition in 2018.
“I had an absolutely brilliant time – the diving was spectacular and I was so happy to be back in the water again blowing bubbles and appreciating the absolute beauty of the underwater world, and the Baliem Valley trek in West Papua was truly remarkable (a once in a lifetime experience). Believe me, I was jumping with joy and excitement inside. You’ve done it again my friend – so take a bow.”
PHOTO & VIDEO CREDIT © Thomas & Natalia Baechtold, Robin Aiello (centre top in montage), Atmosphere Resort, PADI Critter Specialty video clip (in interview)