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Don't judge a fish by its beauty- toadfish have bulging eyes and warty-looking skin. Credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Don’t judge a fish by its beauty.
Consider, for example, the toadfish. The name comes from its resemblance to a toad -- bulging eyes, wide head, and warty-looking skin. There are more than 80 species around the world, and many of them live in the mud and muck at the bottom of shallow waters. And some of them even grunt like a toad when they’re scared, mad, or courting.
But the toadfish is a remarkably hardy little creature. It can survive in water with low levels of oxygen and high levels of pollution. It can even survive a long time out of the water. These and other traits make it a popular subject for medical researchers.
Ammonia, for example, is a waste product that builds up when the liver, kidneys, and other organs don’t function properly. Understanding how the toadfish copes with high levels of ammonia could lead to new therapies for liver disease, stroke, and other afflictions.
The system that controls the toadfish’s balance is a popular subject, too, because in many ways it closely resembles that of humans. Scientists have even launched the critters into space to see how they adapt to microgravity. These and other tests could lead to new treatments for motion sickness, dizziness, hearing loss, and other problems.
There’s also a resemblance between the system that helps a toadfish sense its surroundings and the human sense of hearing. In fact, this same system is found in most fish -- a system known as the lateral line, which we’ll talk about on our next program.
