Atlantic midshipman

Atlantic midshipmen are known for the grunting noises they make during mating season. They are called midshipmen, because the noise one of these fish can make sounds like a single boat-whistle blast.

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Actinopterygii

Order: Batrachoidiformes

Family: Batrachoididae

Genus: Porichthys

Species: Plectrodon

Atlantic midshipmen generally grow to a length of about eleven and a half inches (twenty-nine centimeters). They have silvery to white skin on their sides and dark brown skin on their bellies. Their sides are often marked with dark brown or bluish spots. These spots sometimes join together to form u-shaped marks. The fins of Atlantic midshipmen are generally unmarked, but sometimes display pale, dusky, horizontal rows. Like other toadfish, the dorsal and anal, or back and belly, fins of Atlantic midshipmen run along the entire length of their bodies. They are also similar to other toadfish in their rounded, fan-like pectoral, or side, fins. Atlantic midshipmen also have large, luminous areas around their sides and chins. When animals glow, they are referred to as luminescent. Atlantic midshipmen are luminescent because of the luminous glands along their sides and chins. They also have large luminous areas around their eyes. Unlike many other toadfish, Atlantic midshipmen do not have fleshy tabs around their chins.

Like other fish, Atlantic midshipmen need oxygen to survive. Unlike humans, Atlantic midshipmen cannot breathe oxygen through the air. Instead, they use the oxygen which is in the water. Atlantic midshipmen take water into their mouths, use the oxygen they need, and release the waste chemicals through their gills. One interesting thing about toadfish is that they are able to survive on very little oxygen for a long time. They are even able to survive outside of water for several hours.

Atlantic midshipmen are found in the offshore banks around such places as commercial shrimp grounds. These fish inhabit the sand and muddy soft bottoms of the ocean floor. They are much less common inshore. Atlantic midshipmen inhabit the coastal waters of the western Atlantic Ocean from Virginia to the northern Gulf of Mexico south along the mainland to the northern parts of South America.

As carnivores, or meat eaters, Atlantic midshipmen feed mostly on bony fishes, octopus, squid, and crustaceans. Their large, wide mouths are equipped with sharp teeth that can easily devour prey.

Atlantic midshipmen are famous among toadfish for the loud grunting noises they make during mating season. In fact, the reason they are called midshipmen, is because of the likeness of their bellows to the sound of boat-whistle blasts. Spawning among Atlantic midshipmen begins when the females release their eggs into the water. Once the eggs are in the water, male Atlantic midshipmen swim over them and release their sperm, or egg-fertilizing substance. This process of releasing and fertilizing eggs is known as spawning. After the eggs are fertilized, they float down and attach themselves to the surface of rock cavities, and different kinds of manufactured products such as cans, pipes, and debris. Like the males of other species of toadfish, male Atlantic midshipmen guard their broods, or groups of eggs, while the young are developing.

Atlantic midshipmen are often preyed upon by larger sea animals. Their conservation status is listed as least concern.

The life span for Atlantic midshipmen is not known.

Bibliography

Myers, P., et al. “Porichthys Plectrodon.” Animal Diversity Web, 2024, www.animaldiversity.org/accounts/Porichthys‗plectrodon/classification/. Accessed 30 Mar. 2024.

“Species: Porichthys Plectrodon, Atlantic Midshipman.” Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, www.biogeodb.stri.si.edu/caribbean/en/thefishes/species/3162. Accessed 30 Mar. 2024.