page_title: Frogfish
section_title: Mimicry and camouflage
hierarchical_section_title: Frogfish / Features / Mimicry and camouflage
caption_attribution_description: Frogfish
context_page_description: Frogfishes are any member of the anglerfish family Antennariidae, of the order Lophiiformes. Antennariids are known as anglerfishes in Australia, where the term "frogfish" refers to members of the unrelated family Batrachoididae. Frogfishes are found in almost all tropical and subtropical oceans and seas around the world, the primary exception being the Mediterranean Sea.
  Frogfishes are small, short and stocky, and sometimes covered in spinules and other appendages to aid in camouflage. The camouflage aids in protection from predators and enables them to lure prey. Many species can change colour; some are covered with other organisms such as algae or hydrozoa. In keeping with this camouflage, frogfishes typically move slowly, lying in wait for prey, and then striking extremely rapidly, in as little as 6 milliseconds.
  Few traces of frogfishes remain in the fossil record, though Antennarius monodi is known from the Miocene of Algeria and Eophryne barbuttii is known from the Eocene of Italy.
context_section_description: The unusual appearance of the frogfish functions to conceal it from predators and sometimes to mimic a potential meal to its prey. In the study of animal behavior, this is known as aggressive mimicry. Their unusual shape, colour, and skin textures disguise frogfish. Some resemble stones or coral, while others imitate sponges or sea squirts with dark splotches instead of holes. In 2005, a species was discovered, the striated frogfish, that mimics a sea urchin, while the sargassumfish is coloured to blend in with the surrounding sargassum.  Some frogfish are covered with algae or hydrozoa. Their camouflage can be so perfect that sea slugs have been known to crawl over the fish without recognizing them.
  For the scaleless and unprotected frogfish, camouflage is an important defense against predators. Some species can also inflate themselves, like pufferfish, by sucking in water in a threat display. In aquaria and in nature, frogfish have been observed, when flushed from their hiding spots and clearly visible, to be attacked by clownfish, damselfish, and wrasses, and in aquaria, to be killed.
  Many frogfishes can change their colour.  The light colours are generally yellows or yellow-browns, while the darker are green, black, or dark red. They usually appear with the lighter color, but the change can last from a few days to several weeks. What triggers the change is unknown.
caption: A frogfish disguised as an algae-covered stone
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