Gulf toadfish (Opsanus beta)

Scientific name: Opsanus beta Goode & Bean, 1880

Gulf toadfish (Opsanus beta)

The Gulf toadfish (Opsanus beta) is a marine fish of the family Batrachoididae. Native range: Western Central Atlantic, Florida (USA), Little Bahama Bank (Bahamas) and the entire Gulf of Mexico to Campeche, Mexico.

Biology

Commonly found in seagrass beds and rocky cuts in coastal bays and lagoons, and in shallows along open coast. In western coast of Florida, adults spawn in February and March. Nesting males produce grunt calls called the boatwhistle as advertisement of competition among males and to attract females. Neither opercular nor dorsal gland is venomous.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Opsanus beta
Family
Batrachoididae (Toadfishes)
Order
Batrachoidiformes (Toadfishes)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
30.0
Environment
Marine; demersal
Climate
Subtropical
Distribution
Western Central Atlantic: Florida (USA), Little Bahama Bank (Bahamas) and the entire Gulf of Mexico to Campeche, Mexico.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Reports of ciguatera poisoning
Resilience
Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.218; tm=1+)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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