Frogfish and Dragonets Codexery

Shaggy frogfish

A striped, lure-bearing frogfish of Indo-Pacific reefs and mud habitats.

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Shaggy frogfish

JIBON · CC BY-SA 4.0

The shaggy frogfish is a marine anglerfish species first formally described in 1801 as Lophius hispidus by Bloch and Schneider, with the type locality given as the Coromandel Coast of India.[1] The maximum length recorded for this species is 20 cm, and its body is globular and distensible, with the soft skin featuring tiny dermal spinules.[2]

Scientific classification

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumChordata
  3. ClassActinopterygii
  4. DivisionTeleostei
  5. OrderLophiiformes
  6. FamilyAntennariidae
  7. GenusAntennarius
  8. SpeciesAntennarius hispidus

Named by (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)

Close relatives

Other species of Antennarius with a Codexery entry.

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Shaggy frogfish (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 217845 (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
2022

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

How big is it?

Size comparison: Shaggy frogfish and a personA 0.2 m long shaggy frogfish drawn to scale next to a 1.8 m tall person. Schematic shapes, not a likeness.0.2 m1.8 m

Largest length in the source, 0.2 m, next to a 1.8 m person.

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

Where the shaggy frogfish has been recorded

Where the shaggy frogfish has been recorded91 mapped locations from 185 GBIF occurrence records

Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (185 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 19 inland records left out (institution coordinates). 2 isolated far-off records not drawn.

Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain)

Biology and range

The first dorsal spine is modified into a fishing lure called the illicium, with an oval esca composed of a tuft of slender filaments.[3] Bacterial bioluminescence has been observed in the bait of Antennarius hispidus.[4] The shaggy frogfish is a voracious carnivore that gulps down prey mainly fish, up to its own size.[2] It has a benthic and solitary lifestyle, gathering only during the mating period.[2]

The skin can be adorned with cutaneous appendages that resemble hairs, and the body color is extremely variable, typically ranging from yellow to brownish-orange.[2] This fish occupies environments ranging from shallow rocky and coral reefs to deeper muddy areas, at depths from the surface down to 90 meters, with an average depth of 45 meters.[2] If the female remains nearby after fertilization, the male may kill or consume her.[2]

What the specialist sources record

The same source reports that the illicium is striped and about the length of the second spine.[4] The WoRMS database records the species as Antennarius hispidus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801), accepted in the family Antennariidae, order Lophiiformes.[5] GBIF holds 315 occurrence records for this taxon as of October 2026.[6] The species has been observed in sandy areas with algae, leaves, debris, or small stones, where it leans against rocks or hides between algae.[4]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Shaggy frogfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; "Antennarius hispidus (Hispid frogfish, Shaggy Frogfish - Hispid Anglerfisch) - Frogfish / Anglerfisch: Identification key, behavior, range, habitat, photos / Bestimmungsschlüssel, Merkmale, Verhalten, Vorkommen, Verbrei; "Fishes of the World", John Wiley & Sons, 2016, p. 508–518 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Shaggy frogfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Theodore W. Pietsch, "Frogfishes: Biodiversity, Zoogeography, and Behavioral Ecology", Johns Hopkins University Press, 2022 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Shaggy frogfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Antennarius hispidus (Hispid frogfish, Shaggy Frogfish - Hispid Anglerfisch) - Frogfish / Anglerfisch: Identification key, behavior, range, habitat, photos / Bestimmungsschlüssel, Merkmale, Verhalten, Vorkommen, Verbrei (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. "Antennarius hispidus (Hispid frogfish, Shaggy Frogfish - Hispid Anglerfisch) - Frogfish / Anglerfisch: Identification key, behavior, range, habitat, photos / Bestimmungsschlüssel, Merkmale, Verhalten, Vorkommen, Verbrei. facts only, no text reused. frogfish.ch
  5. World Register of Marine Species, Antennarius hispidus (AphiaID 217845). CC BY 4.0. marinespecies.org
  6. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence index, Antennarius hispidus (taxon key 5214680). 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 Shaggy 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)

Abantennarius nummifer Abantennarius nummifer

Named in this entry

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Test yourself

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

1. In what year was the shaggy frogfish first scientifically described?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 1801.

2. To which genus does the shaggy frogfish belong?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Antennarius.

3. What is the scientific name of the shaggy frogfish?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Antennarius hispidus.

More questions on TriviaCafe

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.

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