Frogfish and Dragonets Codexery

Antennarius pictus

A camouflaging ambush predator with a fishing-rod lure.

Last updated

Antennarius pictus

Steve Childs · via Wikipedia: Painted frogfish · CC BY 2.0

The painted frogfish (Antennarius pictus) is a marine anglerfish species first described as Lophius pictus by George Shaw in 1794 from Tahiti.[1][2] The painted frogfish can grow to a total length of 30 cm, and its body is globular, extensible, and covered with small dermal spinules.[3] This species is not targeted by fisheries, but it is sometimes gathered for the aquarium trade.[4]

Scientific classification

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

Named by (Shaw, 1794)

Close relatives

Other species of Antennarius with a Codexery entry.

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Painted frogfish (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 217851 (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: Antennarius pictus and a personA 0.3 m long antennarius pictus drawn to scale next to a 1.8 m tall person. Schematic shapes, not a likeness.0.3 m1.8 m

Largest length in the source, 0.3 m, next to a 1.8 m person.

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

Where the antennarius pictus has been recorded

Where the antennarius pictus has been recorded140 mapped locations from 1,172 GBIF occurrence records; marked places: Society IslandsSociety Islands

Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (1,172 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 32 inland records left out (institution coordinates).

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

The painted frogfish is a benthic, solitary ambush predator that feeds mostly on other fishes.[4][5] Larvae remain pelagic for the first two months of life.[5] The species has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution from the eastern African coast to Hawaii and the Society Islands.[6] It is found on sheltered rocky and coral reefs.[6]

Body color is extremely variable and can change over a few weeks to match the surroundings.[7] Dominant colors range from white to black, including cream, pink, yellow, red, and brown, often with circular eye spots or saddles.[7] The painted frogfish can consume prey that is nearly as large as itself.[5] Males and females are distinct; the female deposits eggs inside a gelatinous raft where they stay until hatching.[5]

Adult painted frogfish are most often found near sponges at an average depth of 15 m, and they occur down to 75 m.[6]

What the specialist sources record

The Fishes of Australia account notes that Antennarius pictus lacks the large warts present on the fins and body of the similar Antennarius maculatus.[4] The same source states that the membrane connecting the second dorsal spine to the head is larger in A. maculatus than in A. pictus.[4] The frogfish.ch website reports that the illicitum (rod) is twice as long as the second spine.[8] That site also notes that this species can slowly change color to match surrounding sponges or corals.[8]

The painted frogfish is found in habitats from sandy areas with sponges and algae to coral reefs.[8] GBIF holds 1,487 occurrence records for this taxon as of October 2026.[9]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Painted frogfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; "Antennarius pictus", www.frogfish.ch; "Fishes of the World", John Wiley & Sons, 2016, p. 508–518 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. World Register of Marine Species, Antennarius pictus (AphiaID 217851). CC BY 4.0. marinespecies.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Painted frogfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Dianne J. Bray, "Antennarius pictus", Fishes of Australia. facts only, no text reused. fishesofaustralia.net.au
  5. Wikipedia, "Painted frogfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Dianne J. Bray, "Antennarius pictus", Fishes of Australia; "Antennarius pictus", www.frogfish.ch (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Painted frogfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Pietsch, T., "Antennarius pictus", 2022; Theodore W Pietsch, "Coastal Fishes of the Western Indian Ocean", South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, 2022, p. 281–307; Pietsch, T., "Antennarius pictus", 2022 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Painted frogfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Dianne J. Bray, "Antennarius pictus", Fishes of Australia (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  8. "Antennarius pictus", www.frogfish.ch. facts only, no text reused. frogfish.ch
  9. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence index, Antennarius pictus (taxon key 5214754). 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 Painted 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

Actinopterygii

More in Frogfish

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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 family does the Antennarius pictus belong?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Antennariidae.

2. To which biological order does the Antennarius pictus belong?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Lophiiformes.

3. Who first scientifically described the Antennarius pictus?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is George Shaw.

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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