Batrachoidinae Halophryninae Porichthyinae Thalassophryninae Batrachoididae /bætrəˈkɔɪdɪdiː/ is the only family in the ray-finned fish order Batrachoidiformes /bætrəˈkɔɪdɪfɔːrmiːz/.

Members of this family are usually called toadfish or frogfish: both the English common name and scientific name refer to their toad-like appearance (batrakhos is Greek for frog).

Toadfish are benthic ambush predators that favor sandy or muddy substrates where their cryptic coloration helps them avoid detection by their prey.

The earliest articulated fossil taxa are Louckaichthys from the Oligocene of the Czech Republic and Zappaichthys from the Miocene of Austria.

In fish of the subfamily Thalassophryninae, these are hollow and connect to venom glands capable of delivering a painful wound to predators.

Toadfish can survive out of water for as long as 24 hours, and some can move across exposed mudflats at low tide using their fins.

[4] Males make nests, and then attract females by "singing", that is, by releasing air by contracting muscles on their swim bladders.