Saturday, March 14, 2009







In motion.

This is a cowfish, so named for the "horns" over its eyes. I found several of them in tidal pools on West Summerland Key. But this was the only one spitting. I have no idea why it was doing this nor what it was spitting at. It would swim around the pool, then up to the edge, and spit. Curious.

If anyone knows why it did this or what specific species of cowfish this is please let me know via the comments. Thanks.

8 comments:

Ron a.k.a. Danudin said...

Don't know cowfish from Adam, but angler fish and Darters do that to knock insects off trees and out of the air, so seeing it was a rock pool maybe he was fishing, or just didn't like you and had no real upbringing to speak of.
Great shots of the pool that is frustrating on the three time I have tried it.

Chesney said...

I have never seen one of these fish, but how cool is that? I can't believe you caught this, you have a knack at being at the right place at the right time!

Ms Katy said...

I have no information on this strange fish but I am amazed at your photo! You really got the spitting! Good job!

Kerri said...

This is an amazing series of photos! You were in the perfect spot to catch these. I love that you can see all of the colors of the fish, and the movement of the water. I especially like the last photo -- it looks like he's trying to shoo you away. :)

Anonymous said...

I googled it and here is what I learned: "Camel Cowfish will learn to swim near the surface and spit water as a form of begging at feeding time. This begging behavior, though cute and charming, should be discouraged as it may swallow air and cause buoyancy problems."

Anonymous said...

Great shot. Good colors and nice stop motion on the spit!

Anonymous said...

Really interesting shots, Steve.

Anonymous said...

A wonderful series of shots and a nice contrast to the ones above at the lighthouse.