Video credit: Patricia Martin Cabrera (United Arab Emirates)
Review: Abdel Rahman El Gamal (Founder of the video channel)
Source: www.fishconsult.org
This video was filmed at Ras Muhammad, Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt).
Introduction: The video was filmed is the premise of the British navy ship “Thistlegorm” which was built in 1940 and got sunk near Ras Muhammad (Red Sea – Egypt) where this video was filmed. Thistlegorm was attacked by German bomber planes on 6 October 1941 during the World War II. The Thistlegorm wreck acts as a giant underwater museum whereas divers enjoy watching the amazing sea life especially this wreck is in good visibility. Even though, many fish species are shown in the present video, the focus is given to the Crocodilefish (Papilloculiceps longiceps) which attracted most of the interest.
Crocodilefish which is also known as “Tentacled flathead” is one of two species of the Platycephalidae family which resemble crocodiles most. Usually they are associated with reefs, in sandy or rubble filled areas where their camouflage is most effective.
Key descriptions: Crocodilefish are mottled brown or green and grey. As the name implies they have a protruding jaw which resembles that of a crocodile and a row of fierce-looking teeth. Crocodilefish have tentacled eyes. The pectoral fins are spread to the side when it is sitting on the bottom. They can reach a length of about 70 cm.
Hunting and feeding: Crocodilefish is a bottom-dwelling ambush predator and will eat most fish that fit in their mouth. They may stay still waiting for their prey of fish, squid or crustacean that swim within proximity of their jaws and with one snap of their jaws they will grab and swallow their prey. Their tentacled eyes allow picking up every passing movement. Their remarkable camouflage is essential in their hunting and fooling their prey.
Camouflage: The remarkable camouflage the Crocodilefish enjoys is achieved through behavioral and/or physical characteristics. The flat head of this stand-still and mottled colored of Crocodilefish help fish to match and blend in with their habitats and makes it less noticeable to passing by fish. Added to that, their eyes are camouflaged by small tentacles (irregular fleshy flaps) that drop down over the eye from the upper lid, breaking up the outline of the iris and making them extremely difficult to spot by their prey and/or divers. Moreover, when Crocodilefish settle on sand, they lightly flap their pectoral fins which lift some sediment and drop it down on them, breaking up their outline and improving their camouflage even further.
