Meet the curious 'fish with legs' that lives at the bottom of the sea

A curious deep sea frogfish that walks on the ocean floor has been found washed up on a New Zealand beach

The catch is believed to be a species of frogfish
The catch is believed to be a species of frogfish Credit: Photo: Facebook

Is it a fish? Is it a frog? Or is it something else?

This rare deep sea creature, described as a “fish with legs”, was found in the Bay of Islands in New Zealand’s Northland region.

Fish with 'legs', sent in for ID by Claudia Howse, Glenys Howse and James Beuvink.This weird creature is likely to be...

Posted by Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa on  Sunday, 10 January 2016

The curious catch is believed to be a species of frogfish, although further tests will be carried out to confirm its identity.

It was spotted in shallow water by Claudia Howse and James Beuvink while they were holidaying in the area and has been sent to experts at The Museum of New Zealand who shared the photos on Facebook.

The frogfish, a member of the antennariid genus, has fins on both sides of its body that have evolved to be leg-like and are generally found living on the seabed.

“This weird creature is likely to be a species of Frogfish, but we won't know until we have a chance to examine it closely!” explained the NZ museum.

“Frogfishes have the fastest bite of any vertebrate. Their mouths expand at the speed approaching a .22 rifle bullet - and that's in a medium 800x denser than air.”

Relative Glenys Howse explained the fish unfortunately didn’t survive for long after washing up in shallow water close to the shore.

“It is now at Museum of New Zealand with Andrew Stewart who will be able to correctly identify,” she wrote. “Unfortunately it did not survive.”

Last year, a diver captured this hairy frogfish on camera as it went for a walk on the seabed. The species are spread throughout tropical reefs all across the world and change colour throughout their lifecycle.

A website dedicated to frogfishes describes them as “fascinating animals” and explains how they use a very clever technique to catch its prey.

“They sit well camouflaged and without moving on sponges, wait in front of holes or hide between corals and wait for their prey to approach. One of its dorsal spine is converted into a lure (illicium) with a bait (esca) which looks like a small fish, a worm or a shrimp.”