#coffinfish

I painted a sea toad for the Deep Sea December thing that @montereybayaquarium is doing this month!

Today’s wet beast is: Coffinfish

Olive’s wet beast fact: these “notoriously lazy” fish can inflate water into their bodies, allowing them to hold their breath for up to four minutes. Do not try inflation at home.

Sea Toad aka Coffinfish (Chaunax suttkusi), family Chaunacidae, order Lophiiformes, photographed in the deep sea (~740 m | 2,428 ft) in the Gulf of Mexico.

There are several species of coffinfish, many do not have distinct common names.

Snippet: Coffinfish "holding its breath" underwater 

These coffinfish are thought to be trying to save energy by holding on to oxygenated water and not actively pumping it across their gills. The rarely studied fish were filmed by remotely operated vehicles in National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expeditions.