What? I Don’t See It

A few years ago there was an ad campaign that ran in several national level magazines.

image of a US Navy Seals recruiting ad
Navy Recruiting Ad

The ad was designed to promote recruitment to the US Navy Seals.  It had a picture of a swamp and a caption underneath that said “Pictured from left to right . . .”  I’m guessing that there really were soldiers hidden in the picture but the only thing I know for sure is I never could see them.

I think of that ad when I consider the unique characteristics of a Commersons Frogfish.  Like a special forces soldier, the frogfish is aggressive and fearsome.  Unlike a special forces soldier, though, only fish need to fear a frogfish.

The Waikiki Aquarium says on its frogfish page that “The frogfish is superbly adapted for its habit of ambushing prey.”  The article explains some of the adaptations which make that statement true.  First, the fish’s head is mostly mouth which enables it to swallow other fish as large as itself.  Second, the fish’s small gill openings are tucked away behind the pectoral fins so that exhaled water will not reveal the fish’s presence to potential prey.  Third, and this is the part that reminds me of the Navy recruiting ad, is that frogfish are so good at camouflage that they can be difficult to distinguish from the section of reef they are situated upon.  They sometimes even have real algae growing on their skin!

image of a frogfish
Yellow Commersons Frogfish

When we scuba dive Kauai, we have the opportunity to view a number of creatures that are skilled at camouflage but frogfishes are among the most specialized of ambush predators; their camouflage is so effective that biologists call it “aggressive mimicry”.

image of a frogfish
Hiding in Coral

As members of the same family as the deep sea Anglerfish, frogfish have a special spine that they can use as a sort of “fishing pole” to lure in a potential meal that needs to get just a little bit closer to be food.  When an unlucky creature gets to within about the distance of the frogfish’s body length, the frogfish will open its cavernous mouth so quickly that the rapid suction will draw the prey into its mouth.  This whole process takes place in just six to ten thousandths of a second, making this one of the fastest capture mechanisms in the animal kingdom.

image of a frogfish
Commersons Frogfish

We have several resident frogfish living at Koloa Landing – one of Kauai’s best dives.  It is a virtual certainty that we pass by at least one of them on any given dive tour.  The trick is to actually see one.  For your best chance at coming face to face with a frogfish while scuba diving Kauai, book a tour with Garden Isle Divers today!

A Regular Day

We were having a pretty regular day of scuba diving at Koloa Landing the other day.  In other words, it was spectacular!!!  Looking at the picture below you might think we were in a less interesting area of the reef.  You’d be wrong.  The rubble flats are home to some of the wildest creatures you will ever see.

image of a scuba diver underwater
Scuba Diver At 40 Feet

That picture was taken just seconds after finding a huge Commersons Frog Fish.  Easily the largest I’ve seen.  Commersons Frog Fish are ambush predators.  They sit patiently for long periods of time just waiting for some unsuspecting little fish to come swimming by.  Then, in just hundredths of a second, they open their giant mouth so fast that the victim gets sucked into the frog fish’s mouth and swallowed whole.  It happens so fast it’s like watching a magic trick: Now you see it, now you don’t.  It’s as if the fish simply blinks out of existence.

image of a Commersons Frogfish
Commersons Frogfish

Within minutes of finding the frog fish we had also found 2 Leaf Scorpionfish, a Devil Scorpionfish and 7 species of eel including a Dragon Moray.  So yeah, a regular day of scuba diving on Kauai’s coral reef.