Pic o’ the Week – Holiday Painted Frogfish

A fish so intricate and glittery it could be an ornament in your holiday displays. At first glance, you might not realize this showy Painted Frogfish (Antennarius Pictus) is even a fish. And its glitz disguises a ferocious carnivorous appetite.

Painted Frogfish, off Seraya, Bali, Indonesia. Copyright Allen Lee
Painted Frogfish, off Seraya, Bali, Indonesia.
Copyright Allen Lee

See that antenna-like thing coming out of its nose? That’s a dorsal spine, used by the rather sedentary frogfish to lure smaller fish and crustaceans into its large mouth.

Mahalo to Allen Lee, for allowing us to post this terrific photo that he snapped in Indonesia.

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