Frogfish and Dragonets Codexery

Abantennarius nummifer

A frogfish with a coin-like spot on its dorsal fin.

Last updated

Abantennarius nummifer

via Wikipedia: Spotfin frogfish · see source

Georges Cuvier, a French zoologist, originally described this marine anglerfish as Chironectes nummifer in 1817, with no known type locality.[1][2] The genus name Abantennarius incorporates the prefix ab- (meaning "away from") with antennarius, indicating that the gill opening is situated away from the pectoral fin base, unlike most frogfishes.[3]

Scientific classification

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumChordata
  3. ClassActinopterygii
  4. DivisionTeleostei
  5. OrderLophiiformes
  6. FamilyAntennariidae
  7. GenusAbantennarius
  8. SpeciesAbantennarius nummifer

Named by (G. Cuvier, 1817)

Close relatives

Other species of Abantennarius with a Codexery entry.

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Spotfin frogfish (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 1605260 (CC BY 4.0)

Conservation status

Least Concern (LC)

  1. LC▲ this species
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX
Population trend
Not held in our sources — see the assessment
Assessment published
2015

Source: IUCN Red List assessment · GBIF copy of the Red List category

How big is it?

Size comparison: Abantennarius nummifer and a personA 0.13 m long abantennarius nummifer drawn to scale next to a 1.8 m tall person. Schematic shapes, not a likeness.0.13 m1.8 m

Largest length in the source, 0.13 m, next to a 1.8 m person.

Diagram: drawn by Codexery, schematic shapes to scale (not a likeness). Length: Wikipedia: Spotfin frogfish

Where the abantennarius nummifer has been recorded

Where the abantennarius nummifer has been recorded31 mapped locations from 59 GBIF occurrence records; marked places: Red SeaRed Sea

Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (59 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 3 inland records left out (institution coordinates). 1 isolated far-off record not drawn.

Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain) · place coordinates: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Biology and range

A dark spot surrounded by an indistinct greenish ring is almost always present at the base of the second dorsal fin.[4] The larvae are planktonic for 1 to 2 months before settling onto reefs.[5]

What the specialist sources record

The Fishes of Australia account notes that spotfin anglerfish vary in color to match their surroundings, ranging through mottled yellow, orange, pink, red, brown, and black.[2] The same source describes them as well-camouflaged ambush predators.[2] The Fishes of Australia account also states that the species is widespread throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea and East Africa to Central America in the Eastern Pacific.[2] The World Register of Marine Species lists the accepted name as Abantennarius nummifer (Cuvier, 1817) in the family Antennariidae, order Lophiiformes.[6]

GBIF treats this name as a synonym and holds 67 occurrence records for the taxon as of October 2026.[7]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Spotfin frogfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; "Fishes of the World", John Wiley & Sons, 2016, p. 508–518 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Dianne J. Bray, "Antennarius nummifer", Fishes of Australia. facts only, no text reused. fishesofaustralia.net.au
  3. Wikipedia, "Spotfin frogfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Christopher Scharpf, "Order LOPHIIFORMES (part 1): Families LOPHIIDAE, ANTENNARIIDAE, TETRABRACHIIDAE, LOPHICHTHYIDAE, BRACHIONICHTHYIDAE, CHAUNACIDAE and OGCOCEPHALIDAE", The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Spotfin frogfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Theodore W Pietsch, "Coastal Fishes of the Western Indian Ocean", South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, 2022, p. 281–307; (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Spotfin frogfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Dianne J. Bray, "Antennarius nummifer", Fishes of Australia; Knudsen, S., "Antennatus nummifer", 2015 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. World Register of Marine Species, Abantennarius nummifer (AphiaID 1605260). CC BY 4.0. marinespecies.org
  7. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence index, Abantennarius nummifer (taxon key 12160489). CC BY 4.0 (backbone); counts are facts. gbif.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Spotfin frogfish (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

Related entries

Same family (Antennariidae)

Antennarius biocellatus Antennarius biocellatusAntennarius commerson Antennarius commersonAntennarius indicus Antennarius indicusAntennarius pauciradiatus Antennarius pauciradiatusAntennarius pictus Antennarius pictusAntennarius scaber Antennarius scaber

Named in this entry

Actinopterygii

More in Frogfish

FrogfishAbantennariusAntennariusFowlerichthysSargassum fishNudiantennariusRhycherinaeAbantennarius analisAbantennarius bermudensisAbantennarius coccineusAbantennarius dorehensisAbantennarius drombus

Elsewhere in Frogfish and Dragonets

Synchiropus · DragonetsCallionymus belcheri · DragonetsCommon dragonet · DragonetsSpotted dragonet · DragonetsOcellated dragonet · DragonetsSynchiropus monacanthus · Dragonets

Test yourself

Three questions drawn from this entry’s sources. Pick an answer to check it.

1. To which biological order does the Abantennarius nummifer belong?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Lophiiformes.

2. Who first scientifically described the Abantennarius nummifer?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Georges Cuvier.

3. To which biological family does the Abantennarius nummifer belong?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Antennariidae.

Answers checked against the source article

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

Spotted an error? Know more?

Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced

Comments

Loading…
Open in the interactive codex →