Painted Frogfish

Photo: Marine Explorer (Dr John Turnbull) · CC BY-NC-SA

Multiple frogfish in wildly different colour morphs — yellow, orange, black, and mottled white — occupy fixed territories in the coral rubble and sponge zones of Bar Reef year-round, their esca (lure appendage) twitching to attract unwary cardinalfish within striking range. Frogfish at this site are so accustomed to diver presence that they rarely flee, making prolonged observation of their yawning threat displays and lure-fishing behaviour possible. Local divemasters maintain informal maps of individual frogfish territories, updated seasonally as residents move or new individuals settle.