Flathead fish: bottom predators of warm waters (8 photos)

Flathead fish are distinguished by their enviable calmness and lead a low-active lifestyle. Predators, having adopted some of the chips from crocodiles, prefer to lie at the bottom all day, waiting for unwary prey.





“There are no toxic saltwater crocodiles. But the ecological niche is excellent! We should occupy her!” - this is approximately what the flatheads thought when they turned into the fish that they are now. And they were right!



A strange crocodile fish came to see us today...

Flathead fish are a family of 80 species. All of them live in the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, as well as in the central and western parts of the Pacific Ocean. This territory is vast, but you can’t find crocodile fish everywhere. They live only on sandy, gravelly, muddy or seaweed-covered coasts and do not dive below 100 meters. Particularly desperate species even get into estuaries - river beds where salt water mixes with fresh water.





This is me at 3 am, glued to my phone and trying not to think that there are only 3 hours left to sleep

But even if you know for sure that flathead live on this particular beach, you are unlikely to find one. Fish breeders spend 99% of their lives in energy saving mode. They lie motionless on the bottom, practically invisible thanks to advanced camouflage. The flattened body almost does not rise above the substrate, and the ability to change the color of scales and skin allows it to pretend to be a small mound of sand or gravel.



This is me the next day, depressed by my own stupidity

The crofish's ability to change color is similar to the camouflage system of fish of the scorpionfish family. Which, in general, is not surprising, because they are closest relatives. Once in a new landscape, the flathead tells the skin cells to redistribute pigments within themselves. It can become noticeably darker or lighter in just a few hours! And if the flathead stays in the area for a couple of weeks, the pigment cells will be redistributed in such a way that they will create a unique pattern, ideal for camouflage.



Difficulty of random detection: impossible.

Flatheads hide so well that you may well step on them. Only your feet will not like such a meeting. The dorsal fin of the fish is hard and spiny, and the spines in front of it also have built-in poisonous glands. Poisoning will not kill you, but it will give you several days of itchy pain and fever. Conclusion: you shouldn’t step on the fish, let them lie there.



Those same poisonous spines.

While lying at the bottom, our heroes not only save energy, but also wait for prey. Flathead fish are excellent ambush predators, having learned some of their tricks from crocodiles. Their flat, wide mouth is similar to the snout of an alligator and is also designed for catching nimble prey. And the eyes, which have moved to the top of the head, provide remarkable binocular vision. Flatheads accurately calculate the distance to their prey and then attack it, cleverly combining two hunting tactics.



The last thing the prey sees before it is eaten.

When a minnow, shrimp, or crayfish gets close enough, the flathead will pounce on it like any other ambush predator. But instead of simply grabbing the gaping animal with its jaws, it uses the “vacuum cleaner” technique: it opens its mouth sharply and widely, creating a vacuum, and the dinner is pulled inside along with streams of water.



The suction is preparing to absorb.

This hunting tactic is effective enough so that the fish do not experience a lack of food and can afford to maintain high numbers. Besides, people don't really bother them. Yes, we value this fish for its tasty and dense fillet, but only the Australians were able to establish commercial production of underwater crocodile fish. And even they adhere to strict quotas to prevent overfishing.