View allAll Photos Tagged Toadfish
TAXONOMY
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii (Ray-finned or Bony Fishes)
Order: Batrachoidformes (Only family is below)
Family: Batrachoididae (Toadfishes)
Genus/species: Porichthys notatus
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS Toadfishes have large flattened heads and tapered bodies and are the only family in the order. The humming toadfish (aka plainfin midshipman) is scaleless with four lateral lines and eyes high on a large head with a large mouth. The toadfish can be up to 30 cm (1 ft) long; the dorsal fin holds a mild poison. The toadfish possesses photophores (light organs), which are arranged on the underside of the head in a U-shape and are used primarily to attract prey.
DISTRIBUTION/HABITAT Found from Alaska to the Gulf of California. Its habitat ranges from intertidal areas to deeper water over sand and mud bottoms. The toadfish returns to shallow intertidal waters to reproduce and is seasonally common in San
Francisco, Suisun, and San Pablo Bays.
DIET IN THE WILD Omnivore: eats worms, crustaceans, mollusks and other fish. Hides in rock crevices among bottom vegetation, or digs dens in bottom sediments to ambush prey. Diet provides the ingredients for fluorescence.
PREDATORS They are prey for seals and sea lions.
REPRODUCTION After building and guarding a nest of rocks, the male entices females by humming his “love song,” a loud sound produced by vibrating a set of sonic muscles on its air bladder 6,000
times a minute for more than an hour at a time. The female chooses her mate, deposits her eggs in the nest, and the male fertilizes and guards them. Males try to attract several females to the same nest.
CONSERVATION Toadfish are not endangered though they are taken by local fishermen as a food fish and by trawlers as a source of fish meal and oil. They are prey for seals and sea lions.
REMARKS For many years Sausalito CA residents complained of an annoying noise that kept them awake at night during the summer months. The cause was uncertain, but theories were rampant: underwater surveillance equipment, secret weapons testing, extraterrestrial intrusions were all put forth. Then in the early 1990s the Academy’s Senior Curator and then Director of Steinhart Aquarium, John McCosker, investigated and ultimately reassured irritated residents that the sound had no destructive intent, only a reproductive one.
The remarkable endurance of the toadfish’s sonic muscles are the subject of on-going research and may lead to clues to fighting human muscle disease as well as general insights into muscle structure and function.
Water planet Senses Cluster Sound WP40
7-1-13
7-11-14
Icthy. cart 2013-2017
Zoo Köln (Cologne, Germany), January 2010
Any unauthorized use of this photo is strictly prohibited.
Tetraodontidae is a family of primarily marine and estuarine fish of the Tetraodontiformes order. The family includes many familiar species which are variously called pufferfish, balloonfish, blowfish, bubblefish, globefish, swellfish, toadfish, toadies, honey toads, and sea squab. They are morphologically similar to the closely related porcupinefish, which have large conspicuous spines (unlike the small, almost sandpaper-like spines of Tetraodontidae). The scientific name refers to the four large teeth, fused into an upper and lower plate, which are used for crushing the shells of crustaceans and mollusks, and red worms, their natural prey.
Puffer fish are the second–most poisonous vertebrate in the world, after the Golden Poison Frog. The puffer's skin and certain internal organs are highly toxic to humans, but nevertheless the meat of some species is considered a delicacy in both Japan (as fugu) and Korea (as bok) when prepared by chefs who know what is safe to eat. Thick gloves should be worn to avoid poisoning and bites when removing the hook from a caught animal. Chefs prepare the puffer fish by skinning them while they are still alive, a practice that prevents the toxins from seeping into the edible portions of the fish.
Leopard Toadfish. Sorry the colors are a little messed up. This pic came out VERY green, so I tried to correct it. Anyone want to buy me a strobe?
Taken at St. Andrews State Park in Panama City Beach, FL.
STS-95 Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai (left), with the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), lifts the cover on a container in the Vestibular Function Experiment Unit holding one of the two toadfish that are the subjects of an experiment. Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski is helping her check experiments for mission STS-95. The fish will be electronically monitored to determine the effect of gravitational changes on the inner-ear system. Mukai and Parazynski and other crewmembers were making final preparations for launch, targeted for liftoff at 2 p.m. on Oct. 29. The STS-95 crew also includes Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., Pilot Steven W. Lindsey, Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson, Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., senator from Ohio, and Mission Specialist Pedro Duque, with the European Space Agency (ESA). The mission is expected to last 8 days, 21 hours and 49 minutes, returning to KSC at 11:49 a.m. EST on Nov. 7. Image from NASA, originally appeared on this site: science.ksc.nasa.gov/gallery/photos/ Reposted by San Diego Air and Space Museum
CC-BY-SA: Licensed under a creative commons attribution share-alike.
Use freely but give attribution to Tam Warner Minton and link to TravelsWithTam.com.
Can't remember for sure where I took this, but the reef looks like Maeda Pt. I don't know why, but these guys have always been my favorite.
Tetraodontidae is a family of primarily marine and estuarine fish of the Tetraodontiformes order. The family includes many familiar species, which are variously called pufferfish, puffers, balloonfish, blowfish, bubblefish, globefish, swellfish, toadfish, toadies, honey toads, sugar toads, and sea squab.They are morphologically similar to the closely related porcupinefish, which have large external spines (unlike the thinner, hidden spines of Tetraodontidae, which are only visible when the fish has puffed up). The scientific name refers to the four large teeth, fused into an upper and lower plate, which are used for crushing the shells of crustaceans and mollusks, their natural prey.
TAXONOMY
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii (Ray-finned or Bony Fishes)
Order: Batrachoidformes (Only family is below)
Family: Batrachoididae (Toadfishes)
Genus/species: Porichthys notatus
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS Toadfishes have large flattened heads and tapered bodies and are the only family in the order. The humming toadfish (aka plainfin midshipman) is scaleless with four lateral lines and eyes high on a large head with a large mouth. The toadfish can be up to 30 cm (1 ft) long; the dorsal fin holds a mild poison. The toadfish possesses photophores (light organs), which are arranged on the underside of the head in a U-shape and are used primarily to attract prey.
DISTRIBUTION/HABITAT Found from Alaska to the Gulf of California. Its habitat ranges from intertidal areas to deeper water over sand and mud bottoms. The toadfish returns to shallow intertidal waters to reproduce and is seasonally common in San
Francisco, Suisun, and San Pablo Bays.
DIET IN THE WILD Omnivore: eats worms, crustaceans, mollusks and other fish. Hides in rock crevices among bottom vegetation, or digs dens in bottom sediments to ambush prey. Diet provides the ingredients for fluorescence.
PREDATORS They are prey for seals and sea lions.
REPRODUCTION After building and guarding a nest of rocks, the male entices females by humming his “love song,” a loud sound produced by vibrating a set of sonic muscles on its air bladder 6,000
times a minute for more than an hour at a time. The female chooses her mate, deposits her eggs in the nest, and the male fertilizes and guards them. Males try to attract several females to the same nest.
CONSERVATION Toadfish are not endangered though they are taken by local fishermen as a food fish and by trawlers as a source of fish meal and oil. They are prey for seals and sea lions.
REMARKS For many years Sausalito CA residents complained of an annoying noise that kept them awake at night during the summer months. The cause was uncertain, but theories were rampant: underwater surveillance equipment, secret weapons testing, extraterrestrial intrusions were all put forth. Then in the early 1990s the Academy’s Senior Curator and then Director of Steinhart Aquarium, John McCosker, investigated and ultimately reassured irritated residents that the sound had no destructive intent, only a reproductive one.
The remarkable endurance of the toadfish’s sonic muscles are the subject of on-going research and may lead to clues to fighting human muscle disease as well as general insights into muscle structure and function.
Water planet Senses Cluster Sound WP40
7-1-13
7-11-14
Icthy. cart 2013-2017
STS-95 Pilot Steven W. Lindsey and Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski look at equipment being used in an experiment with toadfish on the mission. The fish will be electronically monitored to determine the effect of gravitational changes on the inner-ear system. Lindsey and Parazynski and other crewmembers were making final preparations for launch, targeted for liftoff at 2 p.m. on Oct. 29. The STS-95 crew also includes Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., Mission Specialists Stephen K. Robinson and Pedro Duque, with the European Space Agency (ESA), Payload Specialists John H. Glenn Jr., senator from Ohio, and Chiaki Mukai, with the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), ). The mission is expected to last 8 days, 21 hours and 49 minutes, returning to KSC at 11:49 a.m. EST on Nov. 7. Image from NASA, originally appeared on this site: science.ksc.nasa.gov/gallery/photos/ Reposted by San Diego Air and Space Museum
It will be very hard to spot, but try and find the Scorpion Fish. These guys are really hard to spot, lie in wait on the coral, hoping to grab his next meal.
A great "after work" night dive in Camp Cove with Imbert, where the water was much warmer than the air, and we saw heaps of stuff. Seahorses (maybe 8), octopus (both the octopus tetricus and blue ring octopus), cuttlefish, southern calamary squid, bobtail squid, pyjama squid, a huge porcupinefish, seahares mating, a large estuary catfish and many other little critters
Public Pier, Blaine, WA.
© 2015 Andrew A Reding. Comments (including corrections) invited. Photographed RAW, so customizable. Photos are reduced; check my profile page for information on use of full-size originals.
STS-95 Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai (left), with the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) and Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski (right) look over equipment being used on an experiment with toadfish on mission STS-95. The fish will be electronically monitored to determine the effect of gravitational changes on the inner-ear system. Mukai and Parazynski and other crewmembers were making final preparations for launch, targeted for liftoff at 2 p.m. on Oct. 29. The STS-95 crew also includes Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., Pilot Steven W. Lindsey, Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson, Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., senator from Ohio, and Mission Specialist Pedro Duque, with the European Space Agency (ESA). The mission is expected to last 8 days, 21 hours and 49 minutes, returning to KSC at 11:49 a.m. EST on Nov. 7. Image from NASA, originally appeared on this site: science.ksc.nasa.gov/gallery/photos/ Reposted by San Diego Air and Space Museum