This fish looks more like a reptile than a fish, which explains the name. In addition to the appearance, this fish generally stays still on the floor of the ocean, similar to the characteristics of a reptile.
Do not let it fool you though; the Lizardfish is alert and watching what is happening around it, while it is resting, not moving.
They are not easy to spot because the colors of this fish make it blend in well with the surrounding coral, sand and vegetation of the sea floor. For this reason, it can be in the open, in plain sight and yet concealed at the same time. At other times, the Lizardfish will bury itself in the ocean sand, with just the eyes and maybe the very end of the snout sticking out from the sand that is covering it. This makes it possible to hide out and wait for prey to come by close enough to grab for a meal.
The mouth of this fish is large. When the mouth is open, you can see that the numerous teeth have the appearance of thin, sharp needles.
Some Lizardfish are found in Hawaiian waters, especially within reefs, where they like to live among corals. Divers have not reported this type of fish as posing any danger to humans.
If caught by a fisherman, they may quite often be thrown back into the water as they are not commonly considered good for eating.
Generally, Hawaiian Lizardfish do not grow to more than 12 inches long. In other parts of the world, the largest lizardfish has been known to grow to around 24 inches in length.
The scientific name for this family of fish is: Synodontidae, with genus species Saurida and Synodus.
Within the genus species Synodus, found in the Indo-Pacific oceans are the Arrowtooth, Engleman's, Two-spot (also called Sand) Lizardfish, and others.
In the Pacific Ocean, the Capricorn Lizardfish may be found.
The Inshore Lizardfish inhabits waters on the East Coast of the United States from North Carolina and South to as far as Brazil. In these waters, the Lizardfish may be found resting on a mud ocean floor, instead of the sand ocean floor which would be found in some tropical waters.
Within the genus species Saurida are the Brazilian Lizardfish, living mainly in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean, the Shortjaw Saury living in the Pacific Ocean and the Clouded Lizardfish in the South Pacific, just to name a few.
There are around 60 species of Lizardfish. The few named in this article can be a start for you to know a direction for further research of the specific types, if desired. The site fish.explore-topics.com/articles is a great resource for information about many different types of fish and anything related to the fish topic.
Do not let it fool you though; the Lizardfish is alert and watching what is happening around it, while it is resting, not moving.
They are not easy to spot because the colors of this fish make it blend in well with the surrounding coral, sand and vegetation of the sea floor. For this reason, it can be in the open, in plain sight and yet concealed at the same time. At other times, the Lizardfish will bury itself in the ocean sand, with just the eyes and maybe the very end of the snout sticking out from the sand that is covering it. This makes it possible to hide out and wait for prey to come by close enough to grab for a meal.
The mouth of this fish is large. When the mouth is open, you can see that the numerous teeth have the appearance of thin, sharp needles.
Some Lizardfish are found in Hawaiian waters, especially within reefs, where they like to live among corals. Divers have not reported this type of fish as posing any danger to humans.
If caught by a fisherman, they may quite often be thrown back into the water as they are not commonly considered good for eating.
Generally, Hawaiian Lizardfish do not grow to more than 12 inches long. In other parts of the world, the largest lizardfish has been known to grow to around 24 inches in length.
The scientific name for this family of fish is: Synodontidae, with genus species Saurida and Synodus.
Within the genus species Synodus, found in the Indo-Pacific oceans are the Arrowtooth, Engleman's, Two-spot (also called Sand) Lizardfish, and others.
In the Pacific Ocean, the Capricorn Lizardfish may be found.
The Inshore Lizardfish inhabits waters on the East Coast of the United States from North Carolina and South to as far as Brazil. In these waters, the Lizardfish may be found resting on a mud ocean floor, instead of the sand ocean floor which would be found in some tropical waters.
Within the genus species Saurida are the Brazilian Lizardfish, living mainly in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean, the Shortjaw Saury living in the Pacific Ocean and the Clouded Lizardfish in the South Pacific, just to name a few.
There are around 60 species of Lizardfish. The few named in this article can be a start for you to know a direction for further research of the specific types, if desired. The site fish.explore-topics.com/articles is a great resource for information about many different types of fish and anything related to the fish topic.