The whiteline toadfish, Sanopus greenfieldorum, is an outstanding Caribbean species in an otherwise drab and mostly overlooked group of fishes. Toadfish are lethargic, spending a lot of time sitting under rocks and waiting for prey they can ambush, hence the drab camouflaged color of most species. As you can see, the whiteline toadfish is on a whole other level in terms of appearance, and luckily for us a few of these beauties have been recently collected and imported into the US.
The couple whiteline toadfish we’ve accounted for so far seem to be originating from Belize, perhaps riding along the same distribution channels as the fantastic Gorgonia mariae seafans. As nice as the whiteline toadfish is, don’t confuse it with an even more spectacular toadfish species, the Cozumel endemic and protected splendid toadfish, Sanopus splendidus. It’ll be really cool to see if the whiteline toadfish and other Belizean reef animals see more frequent export or if this is just a temporary spurt.
