Toadfish (Opsanus Beta): All About This Species

Originally from the Gulf of Mexico, the Toadfish has already been identified in some Asian countries.

Toadfish (Opsanus Beta): All About This Species

The Toadfish ( Opsanus beta ) or Gulf Toadfish as it is known in Central and North America is a carnivorous fish native to the Gulf of Mexico and has very peculiar and unusual characteristics.

It is commonly found in seagrass beds and rocky cuts in coastal bays and lagoons, and in shallows along the open coast. It is so named because it produces a growl like frogs and whistles to attract other frogfish. As with some other fish species, it is the male Toadfish that guards the eggs until they hatch.

• Perfect Fishing Rod: How To Choose Correctly?
• 60+ Phrases To Post Fishing Photo (Captions, Messages, Status)
• Swordfish: All About The Trichiurus Lepturus Species
• What Defines A Good Professional Fishing Guide?

They are sometimes marketed fresh or live for human consumption, as in Chinatown (New York), but they are generally considered undesirable and therefore not targeted by any commercial overfishing.

Environmental Protection

The toadfish is not listed as threatened or vulnerable with the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources ( IUCN ). The IUCN is a global union of states, government agencies and non-governmental organizations in a partnership that assesses the conservation status of species.

Geographic distribution

Belize; Mexico (Yucatan, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Campeche, Veracruz, Tamaulipas); United States (Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana); Brazil (Paraná, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro).

In Brazil, according to the Laboratory of Ecology and Conservation at UFPR , the frogfish is considered an invasive species, probably introduced to the Brazilian coast by human activities. See the publication below:

Toadfish Habitat

A hardy fish, the gulf toadfish can stay alive for a long period of time out of water, as well as being able to survive in waters that contain low levels of dissolved oxygen.

Seagrass beds and sand and rock debris located in bays, lagoons and shallow coastal areas provide habitats for the Toadfish. This bottom and slow fish occurs at depths of up to 250 meters. It burrows into the sand or hides among seaweed, running to capture prey.

Biology

The Toadfish has no scales and has three lateral lines. The head is large, broad, and flat, with a lower jaw projecting beyond the upper jaw. Fleshy flaps are located along the lower jaw with a blunt maxillary barbel. Tentacles are located along the inner margin of the eye.

The mouth is wide and contains numerous sharp teeth. The large pectoral fins are fan-like, posterior to the pelvic fins. The small pelvic fins are located forward under the chin.

The toadfish has small pelvic fins located forward on the body, while both the anal fin and second dorsal fin are elongated. Males have specialized bladder muscles that are used to produce mating calls.

Eating habits

The prey items of this voracious carnivore include small fish, crustaceans (shrimps and crabs), annelids and molluscs. Barracuda is a natural predator of the Toadfish ( Opsanus beta ).

taxonomy

The frogfish was originally called batrachus tau beta by well-known deep sea ichthyologists G. Brown Goode and Tarleton H. Bean in 1880. It is now recognized as Opsanus beta (Goode & Bean 1880), the scientifically valid name in use today. A synonym that sometimes used to refer to this fish is Opsanus vandeuseni Fowler, 1939.

Toadfish as food

Toadfish ( Opsanus beta ) is considered to be of poor quality, and has been linked to ciguatera poisoning in humans. Ciguatera is a form of ichthyo-poisoning caused by consuming ciguatoxin-contaminated coral fish (a lipid-soluble class of toxins).