As the reef divides into narrow fingers that run down to the wall edge, the coral ledges provide the perfect home for the white
spotted toadfish, found only in Belize.
One of her favorite
Splendid Toadfish photos from Cozumel was published in Bond's Biology of Fishes, 3rd edition.
The
Atlantic toadfish solves this problem, in part, by producing large amounts of a protein called parvalbumin that can mop up excess calcium from the muscle cytoplasm.
Tens of thousands
of toadfish line San Francisco Bay on summer evenings, humming their own individual mating calls.
Rice and his team analysed the hoot - like calls of two closely related
toadfish species with single swim bladders, and found they can not make non-linear sounds.
Among the roots in the subtidal zone we find the oyster
toadfish with a large mouth for gulping small fish prey and camouflage coloration causing it to blend in with the mangrove oysters (Crassostrea rhizophorae) and mussels (r i n) which attach to the roots.
Rome and colleagues also found that, on average, the proteins that pump calcium out of the cytoplasm and into storage operate faster in midshipman muscles than their equivalents
in toadfish.
It also remains to be seen how
other toadfish respond to these urgent cries, says Rice.
With colleague Andrew Bass, Rice recorded a further 1200 calls from his
captive toadfish, and found that 38 per cent were non-linear.
The silver -
cheeked toadfish (Lagocephalus sceleratus, pictured) is native to the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
In a sandy tank, camouflaged stingrays,
orange toadfish, and spotted scorpion fish pretend to be rocks or part of the sandy seafloor, then ripple into softness as they swim.
Crucially, however, midshipman muscles release approximately eight times less calcium than
toadfish muscles in response to single nerve impulses.
A very helpful and knowledgeable dive professional, John is excellent at spotting tiny marine creatures and is a bit of a White - Spotted
Toadfish whisperer.
This same dive site also hosted our night dive and it was an opportunity to see, in between others: octopi, nudibranchs, Spider Crab, Pygmy Squid and a
few Toadfish!
Some of the fish species that you may see at these locations, include eagle rays, parrotfish, angelfish, black grouper, golden tailed eels, green morays, spotted morays, stonefish, squirrel fish, grunts, and the rare
splendid toadfish, among others.
During our time exploring Johnny's Wrench we saw Lots of Caribbean Spiny Lobsters, Rays, Groupers, Snappers, Spotted Drums and White
Spotted Toadfish.
Male
Atlantic toadfish, for example, contract and relax their swimbladder muscles up to 100 - 200 times per second to produce short, repetitive «boatwhistle» calls interspersed with relatively long periods of silence.
With more than 200 mangrove islands, the atoll is a natural nursery for a wide variety of exotic fish, including the rare
Whitespotted Toadfish, which is endemic to Belize.
In addition to numerable Caribbean fish species, reef sharks and turtles, Belize's barrier reef is home to the endemic
whitespotted toadfish.
When Aaron Rice at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, recorded the calls of captive three -
spined toadfish, he noticed that some of the waveforms contained short but complicated patterns.
Toadfish are well known for using a strange set of hoots and grunts to attract mates or scare off predators.
But the noises produced by
the toadfish set it apart: it is the only fish known to produce non-linear calls.
The key to
the toadfish's talkativeness is its unusual swim bladder.
How well would the lone
toadfish do at attracting a mate if he left it up to the female toadfish to notice his desirability?
The researchers found that, as in the Atlantic
toadfish, midshipman muscles only contract once per nerve impulse.
Thus, to sustain an hour - long mating call, the midshipman muscle releases, and subsequently pumps, only two times as much calcium as
the toadfish uses to make intermittent calls over the same time period.
These calcium ions can then be slowly pumped back into storage during the silent periods that punctuate
the toadfish's calls.
And Turneffe Reef didn't disappoint with its remarkable whitespotted
toadfish.
No matter which site you dive, you'll likely encounter sea turtles, spotted eagle rays, angelfish, snapper, grouper, splendid
toadfish (Cozumel's signature species), along with spectacular coral, sponges and gorgonians.
Razorfish and
toadfish are another common sight on the reef, adjacent to the sloping sand flat.
There was great macro life, making night dives a real highlight:
toadfish, octopus, reef squid, decorator crabs, conches and lobsters.
Turneffe Atoll — the largest and most biologically diverse atoll in the western hemisphere — supports a wide range of diverse aquatic species such as the endemic white spotted
toadfish and the white lined toadfish.
Thousands of schooling Creole wrasse, many varieties of hamlets and the white - spotted
toadfish can often be found here.
This area is used by hundreds of fish species as a nursery, including black grouper, tiger grouper, mutton snapper, splendid
toadfish, and horse eye jacks.
Turneffe Atoll's reef supports a wide range of diverse aquatic species such as the endemic white spotted
toadfish and the white lined toadfish.
While underwater at Johnny's wrench we saw a huge array of Gorgonians, Plate Corals, Mackerel, Stingrays, and Whitespotted
Toadfish.
During the morning we saw Turtles,
Toadfish, Channel Clinging Crabs, Octopus, Mackerel and Spotted Eagle Rays.
The Front Porch was next seeing Spotted Drums, Octopus,
Toadfish, Squid and Eagle Rays.
We started our Monday on Black Beauty where we encountered Great Barracudas», Sharksucker Remoras, Four Spotted Eagle Rays and White Spotted
Toadfish.
Thank to the eyes of the dive guides, critters were the main highlight, to name a few: juvenile Reef Octopus, Decorator Crab,
Toadfish and Tasseled Scorpionfish.
It was perfect seeing free swimming Green Moray Eels, Spotted Moray Eels, Mackerel, Large Groupers, Spotted
Toadfish and an undersea garden of hard and soft corals.
With vibrant, bright yellow fins and a distinctive patterning, the COZUMEL SPLENDID
TOADFISH is a species of toadfish entirely endemic to the island of Cozumel.
It is one of the few places in the region to spot eels and the reef is packed tight with groupers,
toadfish, razorfish, yellowtail snapper, and pelagic species.
Toadfish can also be found at Lighthouse Reef, especially the large - eyed and whitelined.