A hairy frogfish or striated frogfish ( antennarius striated ) from Lembeh Strait, Indonesia
Antennarius striatus is a small-sized fish which grows up to 22 centimetres ( in). Like other members of its family, it has a rounded, extensible body, the soft skin covered with irregularly-arranged dermal spinules resembling hairs. Its large mouth is forwardly extensible, allowing it to swallow prey as big as itself. The coloring of the body is extremely variable from one specimen to another because individual fish tend to match their living environment. Frogfishes have the capacity to change coloration and pigment pattern, taking only 2 to 5 weeks to adapt. The dominant coloration goes from yellow to brownish orange, passing through a range of shades, but it can also be green,gray, brown, almost white or even completely black without any pattern. Body and fins can be endowed with roughly parallel dark stripes or elongate blotches, some with rays radiating outward from the eye.[1] The first dorsal spine, called illicium, tips forward, and is modified for use like a fishing rod. Its tip has a characteristic worm-like esca (lure) which, when waved, attracts unsuspecting prey. The dorsal spine is composed of two to seven elongate appendages. The lure of is a way to easily distinguish between "Antennarius striatus from its close cousin Antennarius hispidus which otherwise has similar physical characteristics ( stripes, coloration, cutaneous appendages) and with which it is often confused.[2] The illicium has the same length as the second dorsal spine and it is often darkly banded. The second dorsal spine is practically vertical and is movable, while the third one is bent towards the back of the body. They are well separated from each other and also from the dorsal fin.[1] The pectoral fins are angled, and with the pelvic fins, allow the frogfish to "walk" on the sea bottom and to keep a stable position for ambush
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Photo credit: © Underwater / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 2013, angler, antennarius, black, celebes, close, critters, destination, divers, fish, frogfish, froggy, hairy, indonesia, lembeh, life, luca, macro, marine, muck, north, ocean, people, sand, scuba, sea, strait, striated, striatus, sulawesi, tropical, underwater, vaime, water
