Batrachoididae is the only

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

in the

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or hor ...

order Batrachoidiformes . Members of this family are usually called

toadfish Toadfish is the common name for a variety of species from several different families of fish, usually because of their toad-like appearance. "Dogfish" is a name for certain species along the gulf coast. Dolphin-Toadfish relationship Toadfish mak ...

, or "frogfish": both the English common name and scientific name refer to their

toad Toad is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. A distinction between frogs and toads is not made in scientif ...

-like appearance (''batrakhos'' is

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

for frog). Toadfish are

benthic The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning "t ...

ambush predator Ambush predators or sit-and-wait predators are carnivorous animals that capture or trap prey via stealth, luring or by (typically instinctive) strategies utilizing an element of surprise. Unlike pursuit predators, who chase to capture prey us ...

s that favor sandy or muddy substrates where their cryptic coloration helps them avoid detection by their

prey Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the ...

. Toadfish are well known for their ability to "sing", males in particular using the

swim bladder The swim bladder, gas bladder, fish maw, or air bladder is an internal gas-filled Organ (anatomy), organ that contributes to the ability of many bony fish (but not cartilaginous fish) to control their buoyancy, and thus to stay at their curren ...

as a sound-production device used to attract mates.

Description

Toadfish are usually scaleless, with eyes set high on large heads. Their mouths are also large, with both a

maxilla The maxilla (plural: ''maxillae'' ) in vertebrates is the upper fixed (not fixed in Neopterygii) bone of the jaw formed from the fusion of two maxillary bones. In humans, the upper jaw includes the hard palate in the front of the mouth. The t ...

and

premaxilla The premaxilla (or praemaxilla) is one of a pair of small cranial bones at the very tip of the upper jaw of many animals, usually, but not always, bearing teeth. In humans, they are fused with the maxilla. The "premaxilla" of therian mammal has b ...

, and often decorated with

barbel Barbel may refer to: *Barbel (anatomy), a whisker-like organ near the mouth found in some fish (notably catfish, loaches and cyprinids) and turtles *Barbel (fish), a common name for certain species of fish **''Barbus barbus'', a species of cyprinid ...

s and skin flaps. They are generally drab in colour, although those living on coral reefs may have brighter patterns. They range in size from length in '' Thlassophryne megalops'', to in the Pacuma toadfish. The gills are small and occur only on the sides of the fish. The

pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral surface of fish. The paired pelvic fins are homologous to the hindlimbs of tetrapods. Structure and function Structure In actinopterygians, the pelvic fin consists of two en ...

s are forward of the

pectoral fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as ...

s, usually under the

gill A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...

s, and have one spine with several soft rays. For the two separate

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through conv ...

s, 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 fish A midshipman fish is any species of toadfish belonging to the genus ''Porichthys'' (in family Batrachoididae). Midshipman fish are distinguished by their photophores (organs which attract prey and after which they are named, being said to resembl ...

es, have

photophore A photophore is a glandular organ that appears as luminous spots on various marine animals, including fish and cephalopods. The organ can be simple, or as complex as the human eye; equipped with lenses, shutters, color filters and reflectors, ...

s and four

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelial ...

s. All toadfishes possess sharp spines on the first dorsal fin and on the

opercle The operculum is a series of bones found in bony fish and chimaeras that serves as a facial support structure and a protective covering for the gills; it is also used for respiration and feeding. Anatomy The opercular series contains four b ...

(gill cover). In fish of the subfamily Thalassophryninae, these are hollow and connect to venom glands capable of delivering a painful wound to predators.

Distribution and habitat

Toadfishes are found worldwide. Most toadfish are marine, though some are found in

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...

water and one

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

, the

Thalassophryninae Thalassophryninae is a subfamily of toadfish in the family Batrachoididae. The species in the subfamily are characterised by the possession of two dorsal fin spines, a lack of subopercular spines, with the dorsal and opercular spines being holl ...

, is found exclusively in freshwater habitats in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

. In particular, '' Daector quadrizonatus'' and '' Thalassophryne amazonica'' are known from the

Atrato River The Atrato River () is a river of northwestern Colombia. It rises in the slopes of the Western Cordillera and flows almost due north to the Gulf of Urabá (or Gulf of Darién), where it forms a large, swampy delta. Its course crosses the ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

and the

Amazon River The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile. The headwaters of t ...

, respectively.

Habits and reproduction

Toadfishes are bottom-dwellers, ranging from near-shore areas to deep waters. They tend to be omnivorous, eating

sea worm Sea worm may refer to one or several of the following phyla: See also * Marine worm Any worm that lives in a marine environment is considered a marine worm. Marine worms are found in several different phyla, including the Platyhelminthes, Nem ...

crustacean 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 ...

mollusks 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 esti ...

, 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 long as 24 hours, and some can move across exposed mudflats at low tide using their fins. Males make nests, and then attract females by "singing", that is, by releasing air by contracting muscles on their swim bladders. The sound has been called a 'hum' or 'whistle', and can be loud enough to be clearly audible from the surface. The eggs are sticky on one side, so the female can attach them to the side of the nest. Each male attracts numerous females to his nest, so the eggs within have multiple mothers. The male then guards the nest against predators. During this period, the male must survive on a limited supply of food, as he is not able to leave the immediate vicinity to hunt. The eggs rapidly develop into embryos, but these remain attached to the side of the nest until the age of about three to four weeks. After this time, they continue to cluster around and hide behind the male, until they are large enough to fend for themselves. This degree of parental care is very unusual among fishes.

Genera

About 83 species of toadfishes are grouped into 21 genera, as: Order Batrachoidiformes * Family Batrachoididae ** Subfamily ''

Batrachoidinae Batrachoidinae is a subfamily of toadfish in the family Batrachoididae Batrachoididae is the only family in the ray-finned fish order Batrachoidiformes . Members of this family are usually called toadfish, or "frogfish": both the English comm ...

'' *** Genus ''

Amphichthys ''Amphichthys'' is a genus of toadfishes found in the western Atlantic Ocean. Species The recognized species in this genus are: * '' Amphichthys cryptocentrus'' (Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pc ...

'' (two species) *** Genus ''

Batrachoides ''Batrachoides'' is a genus of toadfishes. Species The recognized species in this genus are: * '' Batrachoides boulengeri'' C. H. Gilbert & Starks, 1904 (Boulenger's toadfish) * '' Batrachoides gilberti'' Meek & Hildebrand, 1928 (large-eye to ...

'' (9 species) *** Genus ''

Opsanus ''Opsanus'' is a genus of toadfishes found in the western Atlantic Ocean. It currently has six recognised species, with the latest one described in 2005. Species The recognized species in this genus are: * '' Opsanus beta'' ( Goode & T. H. Bea ...

'' (six species) *** Genus ''

Potamobatrachus ''Potamobatrachus trispinosus'' is a species of toadfish endemic to Brazil where it is found in the Araguaia and Tocantins River The Tocantins River ( pt, Rio Tocantins, link=no , , Parkatêjê: ''Pyti'' ɨˈti is a river in Brazil, the cent ...

'' (one species) *** Genus ''

Sanopus ''Sanopus'' is a genus of toadfishes restricted to the Atlantic coast of Central America and Mexico. Species The recognized species in this genus are: * '' Sanopus astrifer'' ( C. R. Robins & Starck, 1965) (whitespotted toadfish) * '' Sanopus b ...

'' (six species) *** Genus ''

Vladichthys ''Vladichthys gloverensis'' is a species of toadfish known only from the Atlantic Coast of Belize and Honduras, where it is found on reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath th ...

'' (one species) ** Subfamily ''

Halophryninae The Halophryninae is a largely Old World subfamily of toadfish, part of the family Batrachoididae. Genera The following genera are classified as members of the Halophryninae: * ''Allenbatrachus'' Greenfield, 1997 * '' Austrobatrachus'' J.L ...

'' *** Genus ''

Allenbatrachus ''Allenbatrachus'' is a genus of toadfishes found in the Indian and western Pacific Oceans. The generic name honours the Humboldt State University ichthyologist George Allen (1923-2011), who introduced David Greenfield, who coined the name, to ...

'' (three species) *** Genus '' Austrobatrachus'' (two species) *** Genus '' Barchatus'' (one species) *** Genus '' Batrachomoeus'' (five species) *** Genus ''

Batrichthys ''Batrichthys'' is a genus of Batrachoididae, toadfishes. Species The recognized species in this genus are: * ''Batrichthys albofasciatus'' James Smith (ichthyologist), J. L. B. Smith, 1934 (white-ribbed toadfish) * ''Batrichthys apiatus'' (Achi ...

'' (two species) *** Genus '' Bifax'' (one species) *** Genus '' Chatrabus'' (three species) *** Genus '' Colletteichthys'' (three species) *** Genus '' Halobatrachus'' - Lusitanian toadfish (one species) *** Genus '' Halophryne'' (four species) *** Genus '' Perulibatrachus'' (three species) *** Genus '' Riekertia'' - broadbodied toadfish (one species) *** Genus '' Triathalassothia'' (two species) ** Subfamily

Porichthyinae Porichthyinae is a subfamily of toadfish in the family Batrachoididae. They are found in the eastern Pacific Ocean and western Atlantic from Canada to Argentina. The species of this subfamily have no venom glands or subopercular spines, they have ...

*** Genus ''

Aphos The banded toadfish (''Aphos porosus'') is a species of toadfish found along the Pacific coast of South America where it is found in Chile, Ecuador and Peru. This species grows to a length of TL. It is the only member of the monotypic genus '' ...

'' (one species) *** Genus ''

Porichthys A midshipman fish is any species of toadfish belonging to the genus ''Porichthys'' (in family Batrachoididae). Midshipman fish are distinguished by their photophores (organs which attract prey and after which they are named, being said to resembl ...

'' - midshipmen (14 species) ** Subfamily

*** Genus ''

Daector ''Daector'' is a genus of toadfishes, with three species found along the Pacific Coast of Central America (one, ''D. dowi'', reaches the Peruvian Coast of South America) and two species, ''D. gerringi'' and ''D. quadrizonatus'', are found in So ...

'' (five species) *** Genus ''

Thalassophryne ''Thalassophryne'' is a genus of toadfishes found in the western Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of ...

'' (six species)

Timeline of genera

ImageSize = width:1000px height:auto barincrement:15px PlotArea = left:10px bottom:50px top:10px right:10px Period = from:-65.5 till:15 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:-65.5 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:-65.5 TimeAxis = orientation:hor AlignBars = justify Colors = #legends id:CAR value:claret id:ANK value:rgb(0.4,0.3,0.196) id:HER value:teal id:HAD value:green id:OMN value:blue id:black value:black id:white value:white id:cenozoic value:rgb(0.54,0.54,0.258) id:paleogene value:rgb(0.99,0.6,0.32) id:paleocene value:rgb(0.99,0.65,0.37) id:eocene value:rgb(0.99,0.71,0.42) id:oligocene value:rgb(0.99,0.75,0.48) id:neogene value:rgb(0.999999,0.9,0.1) id:miocene value:rgb(0.999999,0.999999,0) id:pliocene value:rgb(0.97,0.98,0.68) id:quaternary value:rgb(0.98,0.98,0.5) id:pleistocene value:rgb(0.999999,0.95,0.68) id:holocene value:rgb(0.999,0.95,0.88) BarData= bar:eratop bar:space bar:periodtop bar:space bar:NAM1 bar:NAM2 bar:NAM3 bar:space bar:period bar:space bar:era PlotData= align:center textcolor:black fontsize:M mark:(line,black) width:25 shift:(7,-4) bar:periodtop from: -65.5 till: -55.8 color:paleocene text:

Paleocene The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 mya (unit), million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), E ...

from: -55.8 till: -33.9 color:eocene text:

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...

from: -33.9 till: -23.03 color:oligocene text:

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the ...

from: -23.03 till: -5.332 color:miocene text:

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

from: -5.332 till: -2.588 color:pliocene text: Plio. from: -2.588 till: -0.0117 color:pleistocene text:

Pleist. The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in ...

from: -0.0117 till: 0 color:holocene text: H. bar:eratop from: -65.5 till: -23.03 color:paleogene text:

Paleogene The Paleogene ( ; British English, also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene; informally Lower Tertiary or Early Tertiary) is a geologic period, geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period million yea ...

from: -23.03 till: -2.588 color:neogene text:

Neogene The Neogene ( ), informally Upper Tertiary or Late Tertiary, is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period Mya. ...

from: -2.588 till: 0 color:quaternary text: Q. PlotData= align:left fontsize:M mark:(line,white) width:5 anchor:till align:left color:miocene bar:NAM1 from:-23.03 till:0 text: Perulibatrachus color:miocene bar:NAM2 from:-11.608 till:0 text:

color:miocene bar:NAM3 from:-11.608 till:0 text:

PlotData= align:center textcolor:black fontsize:M mark:(line,black) width:25 bar:period from: -65.5 till: -55.8 color:paleocene text:

from: -55.8 till: -33.9 color:eocene text:

from: -33.9 till: -23.03 color:oligocene text:

from: -23.03 till: -5.332 color:miocene text:

from: -5.332 till: -2.588 color:pliocene text: Plio. from: -2.588 till: -0.0117 color:pleistocene text:

from: -0.0117 till: 0 color:holocene text: H. bar:era from: -65.5 till: -23.03 color:paleogene text:

from: -23.03 till: -2.588 color:neogene text:

from: -2.588 till: 0 color:quaternary text: Q.

Economics

Toadfish are not normally commercially exploited, but they are taken by local fishermen as a food fish, and by trawlers where they usually end up as a source of fishmeal and oil. Some smaller toadfish from brackish-water habitats have been exported as freshwater aquarium fishes. The western Atlantic species ''

Opsanus tau The oyster toadfish, ''Opsanus tau'', also known as the oyster toad, ugly toad, oyster cracker, oyster catcher, and bar dog, is a Northeast Atlantic species of fish of the family Batrachoididae. The maximum length of this toadfish is , but they i ...

'', known as the

oyster toadfish The oyster toadfish, ''Opsanus tau'', also known as the oyster toad, ugly toad, oyster cracker, oyster catcher, and bar dog, is a Northeast Atlantic species of fish of the family Batrachoididae. The maximum length of this toadfish is , but they i ...

, is quite widely used as a research animal, while a few species, most notably ''Thalassophryne amazonica'', are occasionally kept as aquarium fish.

References

External links

FishBase entry on Batrachoididae
{{Taxonbar, from=Q867549 Venomous fish Articles which contain graphical timelines Extant Rupelian first appearances