It’s more than likely that most macro enthusiasts are familiar with Frogfish, but there are some species that are still relatively unknown with divers.
This little guy is a Juvenile Ocellated Frogfish (Nudiantennarius subteres) and it hasn’t been long since this species was officially described.
It had been referred to as the Lembeh Frogfish for quite a while as there was a period of time where the Lembeh Strait was the only place it had been spotted.
It is now known to be a juvenile of the Ocellated species that can come in shades of brown, red, grey or black, all with a large ocelli on the rear of the dorsal fin. You can start to see its colour changing on the side of the body.
They can live in a variety of habitats such as dark sand, silt, sponges, algae or man made structures such as pier pilings.
This one was no more than 3cm in size on a mucky site, tucked in amongst some bits of wood and leaves…….hence the awkward angle.
