Pleated toadfish. Photo by Adriaan Johnson Pleated toadfish. Photo by Sharon Albert/Georgina Jones Pleated toadfish. Photo by Guido Zsilavecz Snakehead toadfish. Photo by Guido Zsilavecz	Toadfishes. Toadfishes, family Batrachoididae, are compressed (flat), broad fishes with generally wide mouths. Two species occur in the Cape Town area, the pleated toadfish Batrichthys felinus and the snakehead toadfish Batrichthys apiatus. Both are secretive and remain hidding during the day, coming out at night. The pleated toadfish stays in cracks and crevasses during the day, but may occasionally be seen peeking out of a hole, as Adriaan and Sharon's photos show. If you want to see the whole fish, go for a night dive, especially at the "Clan Stuart" - it is very abundant there! It attains 19 cm in length. The snakehead toadfish is smaller, attaining only 10 cm in length. Sightings of it are very infrequent, as it prefers to stay under rocks and boulders. The best place to find it, with some luck, is under the jetty in Simon's Town harbour. See "Coastal fishes of the Cape Peninsula and False Bay", available from SURG, for more details.
References: Coastal fishes of the Cape Peninsula and False Bay, a divers' identification guide, G Zsilavecz, 2005. Smiths' Sea Fishes, MM Smith and PC Heemstra, 1986.
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