The crocodilefish (Cymbacephalus beauforti) is one of the most unusual and undeniably cool fishes on the reef in the Indo-Pacific. I saw quite a few of these around Madang, both at inner and outer reef sites, and they never failed to provide a fascinating interlude or to use up a bit of film otherwise destined to languish in the camera or be quickly exposed at the anemonefish colony nearest my boat's anchor line. Crocodilefishes are supremely Zen-like in their calm and can be approached for extreme close-up views — if you look closely, you may see that even the eye is partially obscured by a camouflaging fringe of skin. (Pig Island, Madang)
Even seen from above, the outline of a crocodilefish blurs and blends so well with the background that it's hard to tell which is which. ( Milinat Pass, Madang)
Cryptic coloration isn't the only thing that the crocodilefish has got going for it — it enhances its camouflage by remaining perfectly still even under intense scrutiny. This is one fish that it's possible to get extremely close to without scaring into flight. (Milinat Pass, Madang)
A coser view of that face and its incredible camouflage. (Milinat Pass, Madang)
The eye-obscuring 'eyelashes' are reminiscent of Tammy Faye, though this crocodilefish never bilked anyone out of money (except for the cost of my developing this film, of course). (Milinat Pass, Madang)
One more view from above of one of my all-time favorite fishes. (Milinat Pass, Madang)
I saw this one while snorkeling near a beautiful island. It was sitting in a narrow strip of sand, beneath the shelter of corals and soft corals and let me dive down for a closer look without even once flinching. (Pig Island, Madang)
One more look at the stunningly effective camouflage of this fish, and the artistically-patterned abstractions that meld together to form it. The crocodilefish even does pretty well against a plain sand background. (Pig Island, Madang)