Aptly named for it’s resemblance to a crocodile, this unusual looking flathead species belongs to the flathead family Platycephalidae. This bottom-dwelling ambush hunter, feeds largely on smaller fish and crustaceans and is also known as De Beaufort’s flathead or crocodile flathead. It’s closely related to scorpionfish and stonefish. The crocodilefish is a mottled brown or green and grey color, ideal to camouflaged with their habitat, on a sandy or rubble sea bed. They are native to the western Pacific region including Philippines, Borneo, Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Palau, and even Indonesia. They can reach a length of 50 centimeters (20 in) and have very photographic eyes especially for underwater macro photography. Unlike actual crocodiles though, divers who come across a crocodile fish have little to worry about as the fish often remains very still, even if humans approach them.
