Most of what I know about them is from my own
observations. The body of an adult frogfish is easily
the size of a human's head. One of my first impressions
upon seeing one come teetering around the corner of a
coral head, giving me a semi-profile view, was that it
looked just like the head of "The Duchess"
from "Alice in Wonderland".


They are usually found nicely camouflaged on the side
of a coral head or amongst the coral growing on the side
of a lava rock ledge awaiting whatever "meal"
they can lure in.


The frogfish is a type of angler fish. Angler fish all
have a lure with which they attract small fish (in the case
of the frogfish, it is the little tuft atop the head), and
large mouths with which to gulp up their prey.

While for the most part there is a "gentleman's"
agreement between the tropical fish collectors and
the dive shops not to take species from long established
dive locations, I learned early on not to talk too much
on the Kona pier or other public places about critters
we had seen on our dives. There is always the problem
of over zealous new collectors that will act on bits of
information picked up from divers discussing the wonders
of their dive, particularly when it comes to frogfish,
lion fish and a few other "prized species" of marine
life. When left alone, you can almost count on these
types of critters to be in the same general vicinity
of their last sighting to show future groups of
divers; and to be able to observe their
growth and habits.