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Toad fish
Opsanus tau
39.0602, -76.7073
Field Notes
Description:
Toadfishes are usually scaleless, with eyes set high on large heads. Their mouths are also large, with both maxilla and premaxilla, and often decorated with barbels and skin flaps. They are generally drab in colour, although those living coral reefs may have brighter patterns. They range in size from 7.5 centimetres (3.0 in) length in Thlassophryne megalops, to 57 centimetres (22 in) in the Pacuna toadfish.[2]
The gills are small and occur only on the sides of the fish. The pelvic fins are forward of the pectoral fins, usually under the gills, and have one spine with several soft rays.[2] There are two separate dorsal fins; the first is smaller with spines, while the second has from 15 to 25 soft rays. The number of vertebrae range from 25 to 47.
Toadfishes of the genus Porichthys, the midshipman fishes, have photophores and four lateral lines. All toadfishes possess sharp spines on the first dorsal fin and on the opercle (gill cover). In fish of the subfamily Thalassophryninae, these are hollow and connect to venom glands capable of delivering a painful wound to predators.[2]
Habitat:
Toadfishes are bottom-dwellers, ranging from near shore areas to deep waters. They tend to be omnivorous, eating sea worms, crustaceans, mollusks and other fish. They often hide in rock crevices, among the bottom vegetation, or even dig dens in the bottom sediments, from which they ambush their prey. Toadfish can survive out of water for as much as 24 hours, and some can move across exposed mudflats at low tide using their fins.[2]
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