Oyster toadfish

Opsanus tau

FAMILY

Batrachoididae

TAXONOMY

Gadus tau Linnaeus, 1766, Carolina, United States.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

None known.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

The maximum size is 15 in (381 mm) standard length. There are three dorsal-fin spines, a body lacking scales, and a single subopercular spine. The inner surface of the pectoral fins has discrete glands between the upper rays, and the pectoral fin with an axillary pore behind it. The second dorsal fin has 23–27 soft rays, and the anal fin has 19–23 soft rays. The tongue, gill arches, roof of mouth and inner surface of the gill covers are light, not black, and the background color of the body is dark with no spots. The pectoral fin has definite cross bars.

DISTRIBUTION

Atlantic coast of the United States, from Maine to Miami, Florida.

HABITAT

Usually found over rock, sand, or mud, and oyster shell bottoms, often most abundant in estuaries.

BEHAVIOR

This species makes a grunting noise by rubbing muscles across the swim bladder. Males use a boat-whistle call to attract females to nesting sites.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

Feeds mainly on small crabs and other crustaceans.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Males establish nesting sites from April through October. Reproductive behavior typical of the family.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Not threatened.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

Generally considered a nuisance when caught by fishers, but used as an experimental animal for studies involving insulin and diabetes, drug metabolism, hearing, dizziness, and motion sickness.

Oyster Toadfish
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Batrachoidiformes Family: Batrachoididae Genus: Opsanus Species: O. tau
Binomial name
Opsanus tau (Linnaeus, 1766)

The oyster toadfish, Opsanus tau, also known as the ugly toad or the oyster cracker, is a fish of the family Batrachoididae. The maximum length of the toadfish is about 38 cm; the most common recorded length of an oyster toadfish is about 30 cm. They are generally yellowish with a pattern of brown oblique bars.

The species can live in very bad conditions and needs little food to live. It is an omnivore. Common prey include crustaceans, mollusks, amphipods, squid, and other smaller fish. Toadfish rely upon camouflage to catch their food; they lie motionless waiting for prey to wander close by, then attack by surprise. They can be found anywhere from Maine to the Caribbean Sea.

Oyster toadfish

The fish has a distinctive "foghorn" sound that is used by males to attract females in the mating season, which is April-October. Following the foghorn sound, the female comes into the nest, lays eggs, then leaves (the toadfish lays the largest eggs of any Chesapeake Bay fish). The male fertilizes the egg; they hatch after approximately one month. When the eggs hatch the young toadfish stay attached to the yolk for some time. When the yolk has been absorbed for energy, the young toadfish learn to swim. Even when the young have started to swim the adult still protects its young.

In 1997, NASA sent the Oyster toadfish into space to investigate the effects of microgravity on the development of otolithic organs.

References

• Opsanus tau (TSN 164423). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 30 January 2006.
• "Opsanus tau". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. 10 2005 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2005.

External links

• [1] Hear the foghorn-like sound of the Oyster Toadfish. From [2]
• [3] the NASA experiment
• [4] more NASA

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