Sea Toads

The sea toads and coffinfishes are a family, the Chaunacidae, of deep-sea ray-finned fishes belonging to the monotypic suborder Chaunacoidei within the order Lophiiformes, the anglerfishes. These are bottom-dwelling fishes found on the continental slopes of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans, at depths to at least 2,460 m (8,070 ft). There have also been findings of deep-sea anglerfishes off the coasts of Australia and New Caledonia. Other findings suggest some genera of Chaunacidae are found near volcanic slopes encrusted with manganese. Of the two genera in the family, Chaunacops are typically found at deeper depths than Chaunax, but with considerable overlap between the two genera.