Frogfish and Dragonets Codexery

Longlure frogfish

A sponge-mimicking ambush predator of the western Atlantic.

Last updated

Longlure frogfish

D Ross Robertson · via Wikipedia: Longlure frogfish · Public domain

The longlure frogfish is a bottom-dwelling fish that camouflages itself against sponges by varying its body color.[1][2] It uses a modified dorsal spine as a fishing lure to attract prey.[2] This species is the most common frogfish on Caribbean reefs.[3]

Scientific classification

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

Named by (Valenciennes, 1837)

Close relatives

Other species of Antennarius with a Codexery entry.

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Longlure frogfish (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 272539 (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: Longlure frogfish and a personA 0.2 m long longlure 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: Longlure frogfish

Where the longlure frogfish has been recorded

Where the longlure frogfish has been recorded89 mapped locations from 424 GBIF occurrence records; marked places: Atlantic Ocean, Bermuda, Caribbean SeaAtlantic OceanBermudaCaribbean Sea

Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (424 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 15 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) · place coordinates: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Biology and range

It spawns eggs encapsulated in a buoyant mucus raft that may transport eggs over large distances.[1] The female swells to twice her normal size when bloated with eggs.[1][2] The species is found in the Western Atlantic from Bermuda and the Bahamas south to Brazil, including the Caribbean Sea.[4] Its base color varies from pale yellow to bright red, dark green, or reddish brown, and black spots are found across the body.[5]

One color phase shows a completely black body with white fin tips and a pale saddle-like area on the back.[5] This species moves slowly along the seafloor using its stalked pectoral and pelvic fins.[1][2]

What the specialist sources record

The Discover Fishes account states the longlure frogfish grows to about 4.5 inches (11 cm).[2] The frogfish.ch website notes it belongs to the Antennarius pictus species group and is closely related to Antennarius pardalis.[6] The same source describes its esca as sometimes short or somewhat longer and laterally compressed.[6] The Discover Fishes account explains the specific name multiocellatus means "many eye-like spots" in Latin.[2]

The Shorefishes of the Greater Caribbean system identifies it as the commonest frogfish on Caribbean reefs.[3] According to the Discover Fishes account, the frogfish can spawn multiple times across a period of a few weeks.[2]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Longlure frogfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Casey Patton, "Longlure Frogfish", Discover Fishes (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Casey Patton, "Longlure Frogfish", Discover Fishes. facts only, no text reused. floridamuseum.ufl.edu
  3. "Species: Antennarius multiocellatus, Longlure Frogfish", Shorefishes of the Greater Caribbean online information system. facts only, no text reused. biogeodb.stri.si.edu
  4. Wikipedia, "Longlure frogfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: McEachran, J.D., "Antennarius multiocellatus", 2015; (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Longlure frogfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Casey Patton, "Longlure Frogfish", Discover Fishes; (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. "Antennarius multiocellatus", www.frogfish.ch. facts only, no text reused. frogfish.ch

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Longlure 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

ActinopterygiiGulf of Mexico

More in Frogfish

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Callionymidae · DragonetsSynchiropus · DragonetsCallionymus belcheri · DragonetsSynchiropus phaeton · DragonetsPicturesque dragonet · DragonetsSynchiropus splendidus · Dragonets

Test yourself

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

1. To which biological order does the longlure frogfish belong?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Lophiiformes.

2. To which biological family does the longlure frogfish belong?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Antennariidae.

3. In what year was the longlure frogfish first scientifically described?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 1837.

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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