Echinophryne crassispina
A small, spiny anglerfish endemic to southern Australian temperate waters.
The prickly anglerfish, also called the prickly frogfish or thick-spined anglerfish, is a marine fish found only in the temperate waters of southern Australia. It belongs to the frogfish family Antennariidae, though some experts place it in the subfamily Histiophryninae or even a separate family, Histiophrynidae. The 5th edition of *Fishes of the World* does not recognize these subfamilies, instead classifying it within the order Lophiiformes.
This species was first described in 1918 by Australian ichthyologists Allan Riverstone McCulloch and Edgar Ravenswood Waite, who named it *Echinophryne crassispina*. The type specimen came from Spencer Gulf in South Australia. They also made it the type species of a new genus, *Echinophryne*, which at the time contained only this fish. The genus name combines *echinos* (spiny) and *phryne* (toad), referring to its spiny skin and toad-like appearance—a naming tradition that may date back to Aristotle and Cicero. The species name *crassispina* means "thick spine," a reference to its relatively thick illicium, or fishing rod.
The fish has a short, deep body covered in dense, forked spinules, even around the eyes. Its illicium lacks a distinct lure, or esca. It has two additional dorsal spines, a soft dorsal fin with 15 or 16 rays, and an anal fin with 8 to 10 rays. The dorsal and anal fins are not attached to the caudal fin. Body color varies from cream, yellow, or orange to slaty grey, with dark brown lattice and marbling. A white crust-like marking appears on the head, and the anal and caudal fins each have a dark brown band in the middle and another at the edge. The maximum recorded length is 7 cm.
Endemic to southern Australia, it ranges from Jervis Bay in New South Wales, south to northern Tasmania, and west to the southwestern coast of the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. It lives on rocky reefs from the surface down to 20 meters, often hiding under rocks, ledges, or around jetties.
The prickly anglerfish feeds mainly on small decapod crustaceans. It breeds in early summer, with females laying around 150 eggs on rocky substrates. The eggs are attached to the rock and each other by filaments. Males guard the eggs until they hatch, forming a pocket between their body and tail.
This species is collected for the aquarium trade.
Quick Facts
- Taxon
- Echinophryne crassispina
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Echinophryne crassispina was first formally described in 1918 by Australian ichthyologists Allan Riverstone McCulloch and Edgar Ravenswood Waite, with its type locality given as Spencer Gulf in South Australia. When describing this new species, they designated it as the type species of a new monospecific genus, Echinophryne. Some authorities classify Echinophryne in the subfamily Histiophryninae within the family Antennariidae, while others recognise it as the family Histiophrynidae; however, the 5th edition of Fishes of the World does not recognise subfamilies within the Antennariidae, classifying the family within the suborder Antennarioidei within the order Lophiiformes.
The genus name Echinophryne combines echinos, meaning 'spiny', a reference to the skin being 'thickly beset with large, upstanding, bifurcate spinules', with phryne, meaning 'toad', a common suffix for anglerfish genera. The specific name crassispina compounds crassus, meaning 'thick' or 'fat', with spina, meaning 'spine', an allusion to the relatively thick illicium. The body is short and deep with a dense covering of bifurcate spinules, and the eyes are encircled by closely set spinules. The illicium lacks an obvious lure, or esca. Colour varies, normally cream, yellow, orange or slaty grey, marked with dark brown latticing and marbling, with a white crustaceous marking on the head.
Reader's Guide
Echinophryne crassispina is a small, cryptic anglerfish endemic to the temperate waters of southern Australia, found from Jervis Bay in New South Wales south to northern Tasmania and east to the southwestern coast of the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. It inhabits rocky reefs at depths between 0 and 20 m, often hiding beneath rocks, under ledges and around jetties. The species feeds mainly on small decapod crustaceans. Breeding occurs during early summer, when females lay around 150 eggs onto a rocky substrate, adhered by filaments; males then guard the eggs until they hatch, creating a 'pocket' between the body and the tail. The prickly anglerfish is collected for the aquarium trade, and under Tasmanian regulations a personal fishing licence holder is limited to three specimens in Tasmanian waters. This species has not been evaluated for the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red Data Book. Its taxonomic placement remains debated, with some authorities placing it in the subfamily Histiophryninae within Antennariidae and others recognising a separate family Histiophrynidae.
Did You Know?
- The species was first described in 1918 by Allan Riverstone McCulloch and Edgar Ravenswood Waite.
- Its type locality is Spencer Gulf in South Australia.
- Females lay around 150 eggs, which are guarded by males until hatching.
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