Oceans and seas are home to many amazing and colorful animals. One of the inhabitants of the underwater kingdoms is this exotic creature. This unusual fish has lived in the waters since the time of the dinosaurs, and has not changed at all in 150 million years. Although she belongs to the family of the most good-natured aquatic inhabitants, her back should not be touched, since her entire back is covered with poisonous spikes.
It is called a crocodile fish (the photo is presented in the article).
Habitats
Habitat - soft sandy or clay bottom. More often this fish can be found on a coral reef. One of the most famous habitats of crocodile fish is the Red Sea. You can also meet her on the famous Great Barrier Reef, in Indonesia, Australia, off the coast of the Philippines and off the islands of the Western Pacific.
This fish has been little studied by researchers. It occurs at a depth of up to 12 meters. In terms of gastronomy,is of no interest at all. It causes curiosity only among divers - lovers of diving on coral reefs.
The bottom crocodile fish has a rather frightening appearance, and it got its name due to its resemblance to the famous reptile.
Description
Special attention is drawn to the head of the fish - in the horizontal plane it is strongly flattened and very reminiscent of the head of a crocodile. In this regard, she received another name - spotted flathead. The surface of the body is completely covered with bone outgrowths, poisonous spikes and teeth.
Grows crocodile fish up to 50 centimeters in length. She, as well as an ordinary crocodile, uses a spotted protective coloration, which makes it possible to camouflage well at the bottom of the seas. The color of the body depends on the habitat and may be green or gray.
Young individuals are dark or almost black in color. Young fish, which have not reached the age when ambush hunting becomes the main source of food, do not really care about their disguise. The main diet at this age is small crustaceans and plankton. Over time, she becomes clumsy and large and prefers to lie on the bottom to wait for prey.
Character and lifestyle
Fish have practically no natural enemies. She spends most of her time at the bottom in a stationary position, so more active predators do not even see her. The flathead is most active in terms of searching for food and food at night, and during the day it is more cautious, but not particularly shy.
Almost nothing is known about the reproduction of crocodile fish. All available information is obtained through observations of animals. Usually the mating season of fish lasts from October to March. The fry born from eggs are immediately completely left to themselves. Although the fish is predatory, it does not hunt, but waits for its prey near the crevices of underwater rocks and at the borders of mangroves.
For people, it does not pose a danger, but any careless diver may well get hurt by her terrible sharp spikes. In this case, the wounds can become very inflamed due to the dirt that settles on the bumpy body of the fish.
The fish is distinguished by its great tolerance, allowing potentially dangerous objects to come close to itself. But in case of obvious danger, she suddenly swims away at high speed, and then almost completely burrows into the sand.
Food and Enemies
It is known that the diet of the flathead includes small fish that crawl into its not very high, but wide mouth. It also feeds on crustaceans, crabs, shrimps, cephalopods and bristleworms.
The main enemies are predatory fish, larger than crocodile fish. These could include stingrays and reef sharks.
Due to the fact that these fish live at shallow depths, even a novice scuba diver can get to know them.
