Ah, deep sea fishes. They can be pretty cute in their own weird, creepy way. This week we look briefly at the Sea Toad (Chaunocops coloratus).
Sea toads or coffinfishes are a family of deep-sea anglerfish. They are found on the continental slopes of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans, at depths to at least 2,460 m (8,070 ft). During their gill ventilatory cycle, sea toads are able to take in high volumes of water, increasing their total body volume by 30%. They have a short bioluminescent lure that dangles forward over the mouth, and modified fins to act as legs for perching on the sea floor.
They live a mostly sedentary life and rely on a more opportunistic way of hunting, where they prey on anything within reach. It's believed that being bright red is advantageous for ambushing predators that use bioluminescent light to attract possible prey, since the red coloration of these species would conceal it and make it invisible.
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