Butler's frogfish
A rare, derived frogfish with arm-like pectoral fins.
Last updated
Queensland Museum · via Wikipedia: Butler's frogfish · CC BY 4.0
Butler's frogfish (Tathicarpus butleri) is a rare marine ray-finned fish and the sole member of the subfamily Tathicarpinae within the family Antennariidae.[1] It grows to about 10 cm in maximum length.[2][3] Within the Antennariidae family, Butler's frogfish is the most evolutionarily advanced species, and it constitutes a distinct evolutionary branch separate from all other frogfishes.[1]
Scientific classification
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumChordata
- ClassActinopterygii
- DivisionTeleostei
- OrderLophiiformes
- FamilyAntennariidae
- GenusTathicarpus
- SpeciesTathicarpus butleri
Named by J. D. Ogilby, 1907
Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Butler's frogfish (CC BY-SA 4.0) · differs from this box at family: WoRMS AphiaID 282935 (CC BY 4.0)
How big is it?
Largest length in the source, 0.1 m, next to a 1.8 m person.
Diagram: drawn by Codexery, schematic shapes to scale (not a likeness). Length: Wikipedia: Butler's frogfish
Where the butler's frogfish has been recorded
Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (402 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 18 inland records left out (institution coordinates).
Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain)
Biology and range
The species is benthic and inhabits tropical inshore waters and coral reefs of Papua New Guinea and Australia.[2] Most individuals occur shallower than 45 m, though the maximum depth recorded is 145 m.[3] The discoverer of this fish, Dr. A. Graham Butler, is the person for whom its specific epithet was chosen.[3] A large head that is longer than it is deep, combined with a stout and laterally compressed body, characterizes this fish.[3]
A lure used to attract prey is formed from a modified first dorsal fin ray, a trait shared with other anglerfishes.[3] Dermal spines are absent from the illicium, which is notably elongated, ranging from 24% to 47% of the standard length.[3] Sharp, slender teeth are present in large numbers on the jaws, vomer, and palatines, and the mouth can be protruded.[3]
What the specialist sources record
The Australian Museum account notes the species grows to about 10 cm in length and is a benthic fish found in tropical inshore and coral reef waters.[2] The frogfish.ch site states that Butler's frogfish is known only to a few ichthyologists and is sometimes kept in fish tanks.[4] That source also notes the fish can be confused with Antennarius striatus but has transparent membranes between the fin rays.[4] The frogfish.ch site reports a size range of 10-12 cm and habitat among rubble and weed on coastal reefs in tropical Australia and New Guinea.[4]
The World Register of Marine Species lists the species as accepted under the family Tathicarpidae, order Lophiiformes.[5] GBIF records 433 occurrence records for this taxon as of October 2026.[6]
References
- Wikipedia, "Butler's frogfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; Fricke, "ESCHMEYER'S CATALOG OF FISHES: CLASSIFICATION", California Academy of Sciences, 2025; "Molecular systematics and life history evolution of anglerfishes (Teleostei: Lophiiformes): evidence from mitochondrial DNA", Steenstrupia, 2004, p. 129–144 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- McGrouther, M., "Blackspot Anglerfish, Tathicarpus butleri Ogilby, 1907", Australian Museum, 25 January 2021. facts only, no text reused. australian.museum
- Wikipedia, "Butler's frogfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Frogfishes of the World: Systematics, Zoogeography, and Behavioral Ecology", Stanford University Press, 1987; McGrouther, M., "Blackspot Anglerfish, Tathicarpus butleri Ogilby, 1907", Australian Museum, 25 January 2021; Ogilby, J.G., "Some New Pendiculate Fishes", Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland, 1907, p. 17–25 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "Tathicarpus butleri", frogfish.ch. facts only, no text reused. frogfish.ch
- World Register of Marine Species, Tathicarpus butleri (AphiaID 282935). CC BY 4.0. marinespecies.org
- GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence index, Tathicarpus butleri (taxon key 2414704). 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 Butler's 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.
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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.
- Wikipedia: Butler's frogfish (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Classification: the source article's taxobox; compare WoRMS, the World Register of Marine Species (CC BY 4.0).
- Occurrence records: GBIF (CC0 / CC BY). Basemap: Natural Earth (public domain).
- Word definitions: the , each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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