Rhycherinae
A subfamily of frogfish with red coloration and open mouths.
Last updated
Rhycherinae, the Balrog frogfishes, is a subfamily of frogfish found in the Indo-Pacific region.[1] Many members of this group have red coloring and often keep their mouths open, which evokes the fictional Balrog from J.R.R. Tolkien's writings.[2] According to the 2025 edition of Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes, this clade is currently classified as a subfamily.[3]
Scientific classification
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumChordata
- ClassActinopterygii
- DivisionTeleostei
- OrderLophiiformes
- FamilyAntennariidae
Named by Hart et al., 2022
Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Rhycherinae (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Quick Facts
- Common name
- Balrog frogfishes
- Region
- Indo-Pacific
- Genera count
- 6
- Largest species
- Glauert's anglerfish (Allenchthys glauerti)
- Maximum total length
- 11 cm / 4.33 in
Facts from the source article.
Biology and range
Members of this subfamily were previously placed in the subfamily Histiophryninae.[1] They do not undergo metamorphosis and provide some parental care.[4] Antennariines are broadcast spawners.[4] Generally, they are small fishes.[4]
Research published in 2022 using ultraconserved elements indicated that these fishes form a separate clade, which was then named the family Rhycheridae.[1] The primary distinction between the two groups lies in their ovarian structure and how they reproduce.[4]
What the specialist sources record
The 2022 study by Hart, published in Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, reconstructed evolutionary relationships of anglerfishes using ultraconserved elements.[1] A 2025 total-evidence phylogenetic study on anglerfish evolution was published in PLOS by Maile.[3]
References
- Wikipedia, "Rhycherinae" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Fricke, "ESCHMEYER'S CATALOG OF FISHES: CLASSIFICATION", California Academy of Sciences, 2025; Hart, "Evolutionary relationships of anglerfishes (Lophiiformes) reconstructed using ultraconserved elements", Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 2022-06-01 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Rhycherinae" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hart, "Evolutionary relationships of anglerfishes (Lophiiformes) reconstructed using ultraconserved elements", Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 2022-06-01 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Rhycherinae" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Maile, "A total-evidence phylogenetic approach to understanding the evolution, depth transitions, and body-shape changes in the anglerfishes and allies (Acanthuriformes: Lophioidei)", PLOS, May 2, 2025 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Rhycherinae" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Arnold, R. J., "A new genus and species of the frogfish family Antennariidae (Teleostei: Lophiiformes: Antennarioidei) from New South Wales, Australia, with a diagnosis and key to the genera of the Histiophryninae", Cope; (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Rhycherinae (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: Rhycherinae (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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