This Fish Is the Ultimate Undersea Ninja

Frogfish are some of the most colorful creatures under the sea — and some of the most unique, too. They look more like frogs than fish with their leg-like fins and their quick-snapping jaws, but they are actually all fish. They are part of the Antennariidae family, the same as anglerfish, and can camouflage themselves to sneak up on prey. In fact, that’s why they are so colorful.

Their different hues allow these fascinating fish to blend in with their surroundings, making it easier to hunt crustaceans and other fish without being noticed. (Which they are really, really good at, by the way.) If you want to see them in action, then you have to see this video that caught a frogfish snapping up a cardinal fish in milliseconds. It’s incredible to see this wild moment happen in real time.

Snapping up Dinner

OceanShutter shared the cool clip of the frogfish on YouTube, and if you didn’t know the creature was there, you might not have even noticed at first. In the video, a bright orange frogfish lies in wait as a beautiful yellow-and-black striped cardinal fish swims all around, probably mistaking the predator for a bit of coral. And, honestly, we can’t blame the fish for thinking that. If you look closely, you can see the frogfish’s orange fins floating in the water at the end of what looks like frog legs, and you can just make out its eye camouflaged inside its orange head.

The cardinal fish continues swimming back and forth until — bam! The frogfish turns its head and reaches forward and opens its jaw to quickly snap up the fish for dinner (see the moment at 0.19 seconds in the video). The frogfish swallows the cardinal fish immediately, then settles back down to resume its coral-like positioning as if nothing ever happened.

Pretty impressive, right? People thought so in the comments, with one person writing, “Imagine just living your life and dying in less than a blink of an eye.” Another commented, “I made the vid 0.25x speed and it was still faster than i could see💀”

Seriously! Even knowing what to expect before watching this video, it’ll catch you off guard just how fast and efficient the frogfish is at capturing its prey.

Do frogfish camouflage themselves as coral to hunt fish?

Frogfish live in reefs in warm ocean waters and look different depending on what environment they live in to camouflage themselves. For example, some are hairy to mimic black sea urchins, others look like tiny shrimp, and others look like sponges to mimic the coral reefs they live in. They can even change their color to blend in with pink, red, yellow, or brown sponges, although it can take several weeks to do so.

Another interesting way that frogfish hide themselves is by their illicium, a modified fin that looks like a fishing lure. It might look like a worm, a shrimp, or a small fish to draw in others, and when they get closer, the frogfish eats them. Other features help them hunt prey as well, like their bumpy texture, their algae-like waving appendages, or their stripes that resemble stony corals. Frogfish can look very different from each other, but the goal remains the same: hiding away until unsuspecting fish get close enough to swallow.

What sorts of fish do they prey on?

Frogfish are carnivores, and in addition to cardinal fish, they also like to eat crustaceans, shrimp, and other types of fish (including other frogfish). It doesn’t matter the size, as frogfishes have an expandable mouth, up to 12 times their size, that will allow them to take in food twice the size they are.

But they aren’t immune to being hunted, either. Scorpionfish, moray eels, lizardfish, and other sea creatures eat frogfish.

How fast are frogfish able to snap their jaw when hunting?

Frogfish may seem slow, as they typically don’t move much and walk instead of swim with their modified pectoral fins that resemble frog legs. But when they are hunting, it’s another story. They can snap up their prey in as little as six milliseconds! It gives a whole new meaning to fast food, doesn’t it?

Are frogfish in danger?

Thankfully, frogfish are not currently in danger of extinction. According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, frogfish are listed as “Least Concern.” Although researchers don’t know the exact number of frogfish around the world, we do know there are at least 52 species and they are currently stable and not in decline.

However, that doesn’t mean that they are totally safe from harm. Things like climate change, habitat destruction, and even over-collecting by people who want to keep these interesting creatures as pets can threaten their population.

Frogfish may be awesome, but it’s better to watch them from the safety of YouTube rather than trying to own one yourself.