Frogfish and Dragonets Codexery

Ocellated frogfish

Largest frogfish in the Western Atlantic, with three eye-like spots.

Last updated

It is the largest frogfish in the Western Atlantic, reaching 38 cm total length.[1] The species is named for its two or three eye-like spots, called ocelli.[2] Fowlerichthys ocellatus belongs to the marine family Antennariidae within the order Lophiiformes.[3]

Scientific classification

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumChordata
  3. ClassActinopterygii
  4. DivisionTeleostei
  5. OrderLophiiformes
  6. FamilyAntennariidae
  7. GenusFowlerichthys
  8. SpeciesFowlerichthys ocellatus

Named by (Bloch & J. G. Schneider, 1801)

Close relatives

Other species of Fowlerichthys with a Codexery entry.

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Ocellated frogfish (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 712507 (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: Ocellated frogfish and a personA 0.38 m long ocellated frogfish drawn to scale next to a 1.8 m tall person. Schematic shapes, not a likeness.0.38 m1.8 m

Largest length in the source, 0.38 m, next to a 1.8 m person.

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

Where the ocellated frogfish has been recorded

Where the ocellated frogfish has been recorded23 mapped locations from 16,050 GBIF occurrence records

Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (16,050 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 3 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 ocellated frogfish has a compressed, globose body with eyes on the sides of the head and a large upward-pointing mouth.[1] This species is found in the Western Atlantic from North Carolina through the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean to Colombia and Venezuela.[4] Females lay eggs encased in a floating gelatinous mass.[4] The Shorefishes of the Greater Caribbean account reports a maximum size of 42 cm, making it the largest Caribbean frogfish.[5]

Ocellated frogfish
Ocellated frogfish. Image: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Bifurcated spicules densely cover the skin on its body.[1] The illicium, which is the first dorsal spine, has an esca consisting of a cluster of elongated filaments at its tip.[1] Color ranges from orange to mottled yellow-brown, and the fish typically has three large ocelli.[1] Ocellated frogfish are sedentary when not hunting and feed as piscivorous predators.[4]

What the specialist sources record

Teresa Zubi's frogfish website states that Fowlerichthys ocellatus is closely related to Fowlerichthys senegalensis.[6] The same source notes that all frogfishes of the genus Fowlerichthys live in relatively deep ocean waters.[6] Zubi's site also describes the esca as "a dense cluster of elongate, slender filaments".[6] The Shorefishes of the Greater Caribbean account describes the fish as orange to mottled yellow-brown with three large ocelli.[5]

GBIF holds 16,097 occurrence records for this taxon as of October 2026.[7] The World Register of Marine Species lists the species as accepted in the family Antennariidae.[3]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Ocellated frogfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Species: Fowlerichthys ocellatus, Ocellated frogfish", Shorefishes of the Greater Caribbean online information system; ; Teresa Zubi, "Fowlerichthys ocellatus", www.frogfish.ch (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Ocellated 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
  3. World Register of Marine Species, Fowlerichthys ocellatus (AphiaID 712507). CC BY 4.0. marinespecies.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Ocellated frogfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: McEachran, J.D., "Fowlerichthys ocellatus", 2015 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. "Species: Fowlerichthys ocellatus, Ocellated frogfish", Shorefishes of the Greater Caribbean online information system. facts only, no text reused. biogeodb.stri.si.edu
  6. Teresa Zubi, "Fowlerichthys ocellatus", www.frogfish.ch. facts only, no text reused. frogfish.ch
  7. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence index, Fowlerichthys ocellatus (taxon key 7193721). 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 Ocellated 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

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Test yourself

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

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

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Lophiiformes.

2. What is the scientific name of the ocellated frogfish?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Fowlerichthys ocellatus.

3. Who first scientifically described the ocellated frogfish?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Marcus Elieser Bloch.

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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