The eastern frogfish (''Batrachomoeus dubius'') is a bottom-dwelling fish endemic to coastal eastern Australia, from Fraser Island, Queensland to

Kiama, New South Wales Kiama () is a coastal town 120 kilometres south of Sydney in the Illawarra. One of the main tourist attractions is the Kiama Blowhole. Kiama features several popular surfing beaches and caravan parks, and numerous alfresco cafes and restaurants ...

. It is an ambush predator with a large expandable stomach, capable of swallowing

crustaceans Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group c ...

molluscs Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is estim ...

and other fishes whole.

Habitat

The fish is found at depths of 1–150 m along the continental shelf but also

estuaries An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environmen ...

and inshore reefs. Rarely seen in the open, they shelter on rocky reefs and among seaweed or under rocks and in underwater caves.

Morphology

The eastern frogfish has a flattened head with a wide mouth surrounded by a distinct fleshy 'beard'. Its colour varies from mottled brown to pale grey or bluish-grey, with two broad bands and scattered splotches along the body. Juveniles are paler with broad bands. They reach a maximum length of 35 cm.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2716533 eastern frogfish Marine fish of Eastern Australia eastern frogfish