Coffinfish

Coffinfish Facts

• The Coffinfish, also known as the Chaunax endeavouri, represents a rather unique looking sea toad and belongs to the Chaunacidae Family. 
• This rather distinctive looking fish remains less known than related species and shares its Family with the perhaps better-known anglerfish. 
• Due to its specific habitat, which we will cover later, detailed information about this particular ocean denizen remains rather scarce.
• One known fact of interest is that it shares a defensive technique with varieties of pufferfish, like the White Spotted Puffer. When threatened, it fills its body with water, greatly enlarging itself.
• Amazingly, the fish actually uses two of its fins to walk along the floor of the ocean.

Coffinfish Physical Characteristics

The Coffinfish remains popular for its unique appearance in that it resembles a pink balloon. Its bright pink coloring forms a distinctive feature and its body also has a covering of numerous tiny spines. 

For no reason that scientists can determine, the inside of the oversized mouth is black.

While exceptional individuals of this creature have been seen, the species generally attains a known body length of roughly 8.7 in (22 cm).

As a species of anglerfish, it also possesses a small lure to attract prey. In the Coffinfish, this is relatively small in size. When not in active use, this lure is tucked into a small groove on the snout.

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Actinopterygii

Order: Lophiformes

Family: Chaunacidae

Genus: Chaunax

Species: C. endeavouri

Coffinfish Distribution, Habitat, and Ecology

The surprising Coffinfish evolved as a primarily benthic species of ocean fish and appears to be native to the southwestern Pacific Ocean.

The majority of its numbers live off of the east coast of Australia. There, the Coffinfish also prefers the deep waters along the continental shelf and slope – check out the video at the end of the article.

This rather startling animal also spends the greatest portion of its time lying silently on the ocean floor. It prefers depths between 900-1,00 ft (274-305 m) but can live in areas as shallow as 165 ft (50 m).

Check out our other articles on Psychedelic Frogfish, Tassled Scorpionfish, Spotted Handfish