Freddie the Frog-fish

Freddie the Frogfish

Another shot from the coral reefs of Bonaire, here’s the elusive Freddie. He’s a Frog-fish. A member of the Anglerfish family, Freddie “fishes” for his food by dangling a worm-like lure in front of his face thereby attracting unsuspecting prey right to his mouth. He is also a master of camouflage – which works to his advantage both for luring fish his way but also for hiding him from bigger prey. This makes it almost impossible for divers to find him, except that he typically doesn’t move very far, once he’s found a spot on the reef that he likes.

To orient you to Freddie’s basic anatomy, his eye can be found between the brownish/whitish features along that right edge. His pectoral fin looks like a stubby foot where he’s bracing himself on the round coral head, also on the right side of the frame, and his tail is just peeking out from the coral head on the left. His dorsal fin is where it should be on the top of the red blob. For divers, including myself, it’s always a thrill to be able to see and photograph someone like Freddie and his relatives, partly because they are so well camouflaged and partly because they are quite rare!

This post is dedicated to my dear friend Dawn at talesfromthemotherland who is recovering from a recent illness.