Toadfish
Common name used for fish
Toadfish is the common name for a variety of species from several different families of fish, usually because of their toad-like appearance or calls using their swimbladder.
01Batrachoididae
The entire family Batrachoididae are typically called toadfishes. They are benthic ambush predators, known for their ability to produce sound with their swim bladders; the midshipmen are especially well-known for this ability.
02Tetraodontidae
The name toadfish is applied to some species of the family Tetraodontidae, including:
- The banded toadfish, Torquigener pleurogramma (Australia)
- The blackspotted toadfish, Arothron nigropunctatus (tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans)
- The common toadfish (or toadfish), Tetractenos hamiltoni (Australia and New Zealand)
- The prickly toadfish, shared by Contusus richei (Australia and New Zealand) and Contusus brevicaudus (Australia)
- The red striped toadfish, Tetraodon erythrotaenia (Indonesia and Papua New Guinea)
- The silver-cheeked toadfish, Lagocephalus sceleratus (tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans, invasive in the Mediterranean Sea)
- The smooth toadfish, Tetractenos glaber (Australia)
03Psychrolutidae
The name toadfish is also applied to some sculpin species of the family Psychrolutidae:
- The dark toadfish, Neophrynichthys latus (New Zealand)
- The frilled toadfish, Ambophthalmos magnicirrus (Macquarie Island)
- The pale toadfish, Ambophthalmos angustus (New Zealand)
04Gobiidae
- The toadfish goby, Cryptopsilotris batrachodes (Atlantic Ocean)
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Toadfish”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- OysterToadfish.jpeg by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Public domain
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