Frogfishes

Frogfishes are marine shorefishes, and few other fish combine as many unusual traits. They lure and trap prey through deception, crawl along the seabed, and can jet through open water. Their reproduction varies widely: some release eggs inside a floating mass of mucus, while others provide elaborate parental care. Many species are also strikingly colorful.

The book is written by Theodore W. Pietsch and Rachel J. Arnold, both leading specialists in anglerfishes. It is the only detailed study of frogfishes in print and covers their body structure and the mechanics of their movement, what they eat, and where they live. More than 500 color photographs illustrate the text. The volume won the PROSE Award for Best Single Volume Reference in Science from the Association of American Publishers.

The authors examine roughly 5,000 preserved specimens and provide an annotated list of synonyms for every living taxon, along with keys and tables to help readers identify species. They discuss feeding, locomotion, mimicry, and reproductive behavior, and report recent findings such as newly described species, changes in known geographic ranges, and the DNA sequencing methods now in use. Divers and aquarists who want to seek out frogfishes will find practical advice that stresses conservation.

The book also explores how frogfishes evolved and how their lineages relate to one another, drawing on fossil evidence, anatomy, and molecular reconstruction. It shows how varied and attractive this group of marine shorefishes really is.