Q: While fishing around a rock levee in about 15 to 20 feet of water near Orange Beach, Alabama, this fish latched on to my 1-inch Berkely Gulp! Saltwater Peeler Crab. I saw the monkfish identified in your May 2007 issue and wondered if this was in the same Lophiidae fish family.

Matt Adams
Jasper, Alabama

A: What you have there is a Gulf toadfish, Opsanus beta, also called an oysterfish. It is fairly common around habitats such as what you describe. It reaches a little less than a foot in length. Despite their ugly appearance, these fish are quite interesting. Their massive gill areas allow them to survive on the bottom during those hot summer months when oxygen levels are low and most other fishes flee to better waters. They depend on camouflage to hunt, ambushing prey with a single gulp when it gets close enough. Their teeth aren't particularly sharp, but their jaws are powerful. Anglers must take great care (best with pliers) when prying hooks from their mouths. A close relative, the leopard toadfish O. pardus, lives offshore and grows twice as large, even if it's not quite twice as ugly. — Bob Shipp