Frogfish and Dragonets Codexery

Randall's frogfish

A small Indo-Pacific frogfish with a filamentous lure.

Last updated

Randall's frogfish

Steve Childs · via Wikipedia: Randall's frogfish · CC BY 2.0

Randall's frogfish is a small marine fish in the family Antennariidae, order Lophiiformes.[1] Gerald R. Allen, an American ichthyologist, provided the initial formal description of this species in 1970, designating the type locality as off Motu Tautara, Easter Island.[2] The greatest documented standard length for this species is 8 cm.[3]

Scientific classification

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

Named by G. R. Allen, 1970

Close relatives

Other species of Antennarius with a Codexery entry.

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Randall's frogfish (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 272542 (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: Randall's frogfish and a personA 0.08 m long randall's frogfish drawn to scale next to a 1.8 m tall person. Schematic shapes, not a likeness.0.08 m1.8 m

Largest length in the source, 0.08 m, next to a 1.8 m person.

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

Where the randall's frogfish has been recorded

Where the randall's frogfish has been recorded31 mapped locations from 55 GBIF occurrence records; marked places: Easter IslandEaster Island

Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (55 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) · place coordinates: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Biology and range

The genus name Antennarius alludes to the first dorsal spine being adapted into a tentacle used as a lure to attract prey.[4] This frogfish possesses a brief illicium adorned with slender filaments, and its esca is divided into multiple slender filaments.[5] The Indo-Pacific region is the habitat for this species.[6]

What the specialist sources record

The frogfish.ch account notes that Antennarius randalli belongs to the Antennarius pauciradiatus group, which contains one other species.[7] The GBIF database holds 149 occurrence records for this taxon as of 7 October 2026.[8] The WoRMS database lists Antennarius randalli as an accepted species in the family Antennariidae, order Lophiiformes.[1] According to the same source, a membrane connects the second and third fin rays, forming a pocket-like structure that shields the lure.[7]

References

  1. World Register of Marine Species, Antennarius randalli (AphiaID 272542). CC BY 4.0. marinespecies.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Randall's frogfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; "Antennarius pauciradiatus", www.frogfish.ch; "Fishes of the World", John Wiley & Sons, 2016, p. 508–518 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Randall's frogfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Randall's 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
  5. Wikipedia, "Randall's frogfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Antennarius pauciradiatus", www.frogfish.ch (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Randall's frogfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Pietsch, T., "Antennarius randalli", 2022 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. "Antennarius pauciradiatus", www.frogfish.ch. facts only, no text reused. frogfish.ch
  8. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence index, Antennarius randalli (taxon key 5214745). 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 Randall'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.

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. Who first scientifically described the Randall's frogfish?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Gerald R. Allen.

2. To which biological order does the Randall's frogfish belong?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Lophiiformes.

3. To which biological family does the Randall's frogfish belong?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Antennariidae.

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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