Misplaced Pages

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Kelubact (talk | contribs) at 15:16, 31 December 2024 (Species Box). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Grunting Toadfish
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Batrachoidiformes
Family:	Batrachoididae
Genus:	Allenbatrachus
Species:	A. grunniens
Binomial name
Allenbatrachus grunniens Linnaeus 1758

Allenbatrachus grunniens, commonly known as the grunting toadfish, is a species of toadfish found in marine and brackish waters in the Indo Pacific. First described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, A. grunniens is largely found in coastal waters and estuarine areas, especially over muddy bottoms.

Biology

As ambush predators, Allenbatrachus grunniens rely on camouflage to blend into their surroundings. They're bodies are covered in patches of varying shades of brown and weed-like projections protrude from their faces.

The A. grunniens produces a "boat whistle" mating call 10-12 times a minute for hours on end to attract females to its nest. The fish's mating call is produced by sonic muscles attached to their swim bladders. The contraction of the toadfishes' sonic muscle and the speed of Ca transport is the fastest of all vertebrate muscles.

In the aquarium

The A. grunniens is occasionally kept in aquariums. A. grunniens is not particularly aggressive and can be kept with other aquarium fish; however, it may struggle to compete with more voracious tank mates for food.

These fish can survive a wide range of water parameters. While they are able to be kept in freshwater aquariums, adding salt is recommended as they are accustomed to brackish environments. They are messy eaters and frequent water changes are recommended in order to maintain water quality.

Care should be taken when handling the animal as it is known to be venomous.

References

1. "Allenbatrachus grunniens summary page". FishBase. Retrieved 2024-12-31.
2. Rainboth, W.J., 1996. Fishes of the Cambodian Mekong. FAO species identification field guide for fishery purposes. FAO, Rome, 265 p.
3. ^ Ampil, Angel (2021-12-16). "A BIZARRE FISH YOU MIGHT FIND ADORABLE". Animal Scene Magazine. Retrieved 2024-12-31.
4. ^ Rome, Lawrence C.; Lindstedt, Stan L. (1998). "The Quest for Speed: Muscles Built for High-Frequency Contractions". Physiology. 13 (6): 261–268. doi:10.1152/physiologyonline.1998.13.6.261. ISSN 1548-9213.
5. Chiu, Kuo-Hsun; Hsieh, Fu-Ming; Chen, Yu-Yun; Huang, Hurng-Wern; Shiea, Jentaie; Mok, Hin-Kiu (2013). "Parvalbumin characteristics in the sonic muscle of a freshwater ornamental grunting toadfish (Allenbatrachus grunniens)". Fish Physiology and Biochemistry. 39 (2): 107–119. doi:10.1007/s10695-012-9683-4. ISSN 0920-1742.
6. Rome, Lawrence C.; Cook, Chris; Syme, Douglas A.; Connaughton, Martin A.; Ashley-Ross, Miriam; Klimov, Andrei; Tikunov, Boris; Goldman, Yale E. (1999-05-11). "Trading force for speed: Why superfast crossbridge kinetics leads to superlow forces". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 96 (10): 5826–5831. doi:10.1073/pnas.96.10.5826. ISSN 0027-8424.
7. Halstead, Bruce (1959). Dangerous Marine Animals. Cornell Maritime Press.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)