In living nature you can find a real abundance of a wide variety of creatures, distinguished by their bizarre forms. One of these is the toad fish - an amazing representative of the fauna. Let's get to know him better.
Description
Toadfish is one of the sea creatures, you can meet it in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, where it lives at the bottom, buried in silt or sand.
The distinctive features of this unusual creation of nature are as follows:
- The size of the elongated body is up to 30 cm.
- The chest and head are massive; against their background, the small tail and fins look even more miniature.
- The lower lip is unusual: it has a kind of leathery fringe on it, which gives the toadfish its picturesque appearance.
- The deep-set eyes are small and have a blue or reddish tint.
- Large mouth.
- The color is yellowish-gray with a brown tint and fancy spots of various shapes.
- There are no scales.
- The fins are covered with poisonous spines.
- Sharp spines can be observed on the gills, which are also poisonous.
- The average weight can reach two kilograms.
They are distinguished not only by their unusual appearance, but also by their voice. Due to frequent muscle contractions, fish manage to make sounds reminiscent of drum roll, whistling, groaning, grumbling or humming. Signals are most often given to other members of the species, letting them know that this place already has an owner. However, sharp and loud sounds are audible to humans and cannot be called pleasant.
Even more interesting and unusual is the three-spined toadfish batrachomoeus trispinosus, which lives in the waters of the Pacific Ocean in hot latitudes. Her entire body is covered with bizarre growths, which is why this creature seems downright ugly to some.
Lifestyle
In nature, it prefers to live at the bottom of shallow reservoirs near the shores. Leads predominantly night look life, during the day he hides in secluded grottoes. It is interesting that these often choose discarded mollusk shells or cans that have fallen to the bottom as a home. It's amazing in nature sea creature uses worms, crabs, and fry for food. Thanks to its camouflage coloring, the fish completely blends into the seabed. Sitting motionless, she patiently waits for an unwary fish, after which she deftly grabs it. When food cannot be obtained, this creature can also feast on vegetation.
Reproduction
Reproduction is quite interesting: fish create strong pairs and are monogamous. They take good care of the offspring: both parents will be present at the clutch, protecting it, until the fry appear. And after that, they don’t immediately leave the kids, but stay with them for a while.
They are slow and move extremely reluctantly. They have no commercial value, but have found use as an exotic decoration for aquariums.
A toadfish in an aquarium will become a real decoration and pride for an aquarist, as it is distinguished by its peaceful disposition and unpretentiousness. But in order for her to feel comfortable, it is necessary to purchase a fairly impressive container - for one individual you will need at least 250 liters. Optimal temperature water - approximately 25°C. It is recommended to use slightly salty or even fresh water, it all depends on the conditions in which the acquired individual previously lived.
These creatures quickly get used to being kept in captivity and even begin to recognize their owner. They should be fed a variety of meat foods: small fish, shrimp, and squid meat are suitable. If you wish and have patience, you can train your unusual pet to take food directly from your hands. It is recommended to feed your pet no more than 1-2 times a week. Keeping such an unusual creature will not cause any problems, the main thing is to choose enough neighbors large fish so that they do not become food for the underwater toad. However, one cannot count on reproduction in captivity, as long as there are no known cases of offspring in fish kept in aquariums.
It is very important to remember that the toad fish is a poisonous creature, its secretion is similar in effect to the venom of a scorpion: not fatal, but very painful and can cause allergies. Therefore, if you accidentally prick yourself on a thorn or thorn, you should take an allergy medicine and treat the wound with a hot compress - under the influence high temperature the toxin will be destroyed.
Toadfish in marine aquarium it looks very beautiful and unusual, but the main thing is to remember to be careful and take proper care of it.
When it comes to the sounds made by animals, fish are the last thing that comes to mind. But not all fish are silent. For example, fish from the toadfish or batrachidae families are famous for their ability to make loud sounds, reminiscent of a grinding sound, a hoarse grunt, or a train whistle.
But there is one species among them - the three-spined toad fish, which can “sing” in 2 voices. In nature, this is usually restricted to songbirds, some mammals, and infants.
This miracle was made possible thanks to special structure swim bladder. Often it acts not only as an organ that provides buoyancy, but also plays the role of a sound resonator. In all other species of toadfish, the swim bladder has the usual single structure. In three-spined fish, it is divided into 2 parts. Each of them has its own nerve endings and muscles, which can contract up to 200 times per second! As a result, the fish can make complex, two-voice sounds.
In nature, such polyphonic (nonlinear) sounds in animals most often signal anxiety or a request for help. Why the toad fish needs them is not yet entirely clear. Perhaps to summon the opposite sex or to scare away enemies from one’s territory.
Toadfish have a fairly wide distribution range. They prefer warm waters Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Our heroine lives among the reefs and mangroves in the western part of the Pacific Ocean (off the coast of China, Malaysia, Australia).
It was not for nothing that this fish was nicknamed Toad. Firstly, the sounds it makes are somewhat reminiscent of croaking, and secondly, in appearance it is painfully reminiscent of this amphibian: a naked, scaleless body, a large flattened head with a huge mouth and big eyes bulging eyes (or as they are also called “toad” eyes). The resemblance to a toad is complemented by skin growths on the chin.
This fish is not so big - 20-35 centimeters. The body is slightly compressed from the sides and is shaped like a drop. The wide mouth is strewn with numerous teeth. Camouflage coloring allows it to blend almost 100% with surrounding area- stones and algae. For greater secrecy, she buries her entire body in sandy or muddy soil, leaving only the front part of her head on the surface.
She can remain in this motionless state for hours. But as soon as the prey—small fish, worms, small crustaceans—out of carelessness approaches it, the fish, without wasting a second, makes an ejection and the prey disappears in an instant in its huge mouth.
Some types of toadfish are poisonous, so you should be extremely careful when walking in shallow water. It is reassuring that its poison does not pose a mortal threat to humans, although the injection site is extremely painful.
In June-July they begin mating season. The female lays about 300-500 large eggs in a secluded place. After which the male tirelessly keeps watch next to them for 3 weeks. Newly hatched fry look very much like tadpoles. Puberty for them it occurs only after 2 years, when the fish reaches 10 centimeters in length.
Almost all marine inhabitants belonging to the order of anglerfish have a special appendage with which they attract their potential prey. While in ambush, the anglerfish extends its organ, lures marine life, and thus hunts. Agree – the method is quite original. The frog fish hunts in a slightly different way, and does not need such an appendage, although it belongs to the family of anglerfish.
In order to understand all the subtleties of fish behavior, let's look at its appearance. This strange creature, with flabby, wrinkled skin, on which there are absolutely no scales. Its habitat includes the coastal waters of Indonesia and the island of Bali. This is a real nature reserve at the bottom of the sea. Huge coral reef — favorite place all marine life. Best place You simply can’t find one for hunting in the ocean. Of course, for fish with bare skin, sharp corals are quite dangerous, but not for our heroine, because her body is covered with slippery mucus, which allows her to avoid damage.
The fish has a rather original color, which boils down to alternating stripes of white, yellow and brown. She uses such a colorful pattern as a camouflage. Against the backdrop of coral reefs, the fish are almost invisible.
Like all sea creatures, the frog fish has enemies. As protection, she uses the camouflage color of her body and her huge mouth, which scares predators.
The fish swims poorly. She either moves, relying on her pectoral fins, or jumps like a ball, forcefully passing water through its gills, creating the effect of a jet engine.
Because of such an original color, the fish is classified as a member of the clown family. It is called psychedelic because of its appearance, thanks to which it scares away predators.
The fish - frog feeds on small fish, crabs, mollusks, shrimps, sea worms. Her eyes are located not on the sides, but in the front of her head, thanks to which she can quite accurately determine the distance to a potential victim.
With the beginning of spawning, which occurs in February - May, the female frog fish spawns, using natural shelters on seabed. These can be rocky crevices and depressions under stones, at a depth of no more than 10 meters. In total, up to fifty thousand eggs are laid, with a diameter of up to 2.5 millimeters. After spawning, the female dies, and the male takes upon himself all the care of protecting and raising the offspring.
After some time, the eggs hatch into larvae. They are tiny, no more than seven millimeters long. At first, they live in the surface layers of water and feed on plankton, and only after growing up do they sink to the bottom and begin to lead a lifestyle familiar to frog fish.
These fish received the name “toad” for their appearance, vaguely reminiscent of a toad: a wide mouth with a protruding lower jaw and round bulging eyes. This is where the similarities end, because poisonous toads- these are passively poisonous animals, and toad fish have an active poisonous apparatus containing poisonous glands and the main weapon active protection- spines on the gill covers (a thin hollow bone with holes for poison) and two thick spines on the front dorsal fin. Venom glands are located at the base of the dorsal fin spine and at the base of the gill spines. The poisonous glands do not lie in the groove of the spine, as in many other poisonous fish, but at the base of sharp piercing devices, the hole in which is like a duct for poisonous secretion. These fish do not exceed 35 cm in length. The skin is bare, sometimes with small scales, covered with mucus.
Scientists highlight: Red Sea toadfish, found along the coasts of the Red Sea; Indian toadfish, living off the coast of India, Ceylon, Burma, Malaysia; Mediterranean toadfish, who has chosen the Mediterranean Sea; short toadfish, living in coastal waters Atlantic Ocean from the US coast to East India, and finally, reticulated toadfish, living in Pacific Ocean y 6regs of Central America.
Toad fish live in the waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans, as well as in the Mediterranean Sea. In summer they prefer warm shallow water, and in winter they move to deeper places where they sedentary lifestyle life. Interestingly, these fish can change body color, becoming lighter or darker, depending on environment, and if you also take into account their variegated natural coloring, then such fish can be difficult to notice near stones among algae, and even more so under a layer of silt. Often these aquatic life They enter the mouths of rivers and rise up against the current.
When pricked by toad fish arises sharp pain, which spreads quite quickly from the site of the lesion, then swelling appears around the affected tissues, the skin turns red, and a burning sensation occurs. Little is known about the effect of toad fish venom on the human body, but the specialized literature does not describe deaths from injections of these fish. Nevertheless, it is better not to encounter them!
The underwater world is rich in various inhabitants. Some are well known to us, others are not. Let's meet one of the unusual inhabitants World ocean. I want to ask a question.
What do you imagine when you hear the word toad?
Probably, many immediately have an image of a frog that lives in swamps and croaks. But it turns out that in the world of fish, there is also a toad, but only a fish.
The name itself fish - toad says that she should be like her namesake. And indeed it is. Her body is covered with growths and poisonous thorns. The scales characteristic of fish are absent. Most The body consists of a large head on which high-set eyes are located.
This fish buries itself almost completely in sand or silt, leaving its eyes on the surface. She can remain in this position for hours, lying in wait for prey. The color of her body also helps with camouflage. The yellowish-brown color helps blend in with the bottom color. All this makes the fish almost invisible. And it turns out that the prey often goes into her mouth itself.
As soon as any fish swims past, the toad fish opens its huge mouth with lightning speed and swallows its prey. This fish is a predator, but in difficult times it can also feed on vegetation. But the most interesting thing is that it can “sing”, however, this property is not inherent in all toad fish, and only the three-spined toad fish is capable of making sounds similar to singing in two voices. Of the natural inhabitants, this is characteristic only of songbirds, some species of mammals and babies.
And the most unusual thing is that this singing is helped by, what would you think... a swim bladder. In the three-spined toad fish it is divided into two parts. Each part has muscles and nerve endings that can contract about 200 times per second. And as a result of these contractions, two-voice “singing” occurs. Other species of toadfish also make sounds, but these sounds are similar to grinding and grumbling. What is characteristic is that their swim bladder has a single structure.
The question arises: why does the toad fish need these sounds?
There is no clear answer. Perhaps in order to scare away enemies from their territory or to call a partner of the opposite sex during the mating season.
The mating season begins in June and early July. The female lays up to 500 eggs and for three weeks these eggs are guarded by the male, only sometimes he is replaced by the female. The fry closely resemble tadpoles. But even after the offspring have appeared, the parents take care of them, protecting them until the young fish gain experience and are strong enough to continue their independent lives.
Toadfish lives in warm tropical seas. She loves the waters of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans, and her home is the reefs and mangroves off the coast of China, Malaysia and Australia.
The toad fish has poisonous thorns, but the injection with them fatal outcome does not lead, although it can bring a lot of trouble. Therefore, when walking in shallow water, you need to be careful not to step on this marine life.
And in conclusion, I would like to note that the saying “dumb as a fish” is not entirely true. As we see that there is a fish that can even sing.
Loading...
