Frogfish and Dragonets Codexery

Striated frogfish

A camouflaged anglerfish that lures prey with a worm-like appendage.

Last updated

Striated frogfish

Rickard Zerpe · CC BY-SA 2.0

The striated frogfish is a master of camouflage that can change color over a few weeks to match its surroundings.[1][2] This benthic marine fish uses a modified dorsal spine tipped with a worm-like lure to attract prey.[3] It belongs to the family Antennariidae within the order Lophiiformes, as recorded in the World Register of Marine Species.[4]

Scientific classification

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

Named by (G. Shaw, 1794)

Close relatives

Other species of Antennarius with a Codexery entry.

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Striated frogfish (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 158790 (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: Striated frogfish and a personA 0.22 m long striated frogfish drawn to scale next to a 1.8 m tall person. Schematic shapes, not a likeness.0.22 m1.8 m

Largest length in the source, 0.22 m, next to a 1.8 m person.

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

Where the striated frogfish has been recorded

Where the striated frogfish has been recorded175 mapped locations from 3,294 GBIF occurrence records; marked places: Society Islands, Pacific Ocean, Atlantic OceanSociety IslandsPacific OceanAtlantic Ocean

Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (3,294 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 53 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 fish has a stocky, scaleless body covered with bumpy bifurcated spinules.[1] The striated frogfish is a voracious carnivore that swallows prey whole by suction, expanding its oral cavity in six thousandths of a second.[2][5] It can swallow prey up to its own size and has been known to perform acts of cannibalism.[2][5] English biologist George Shaw first formally described the striated frogfish in 1794, naming it Lophius striatus and designating Tahiti in the Society Islands as the type locality.[6]

This species occupies shallow sandy areas, rocky reefs, and coral reefs, ranging from the surface down to 210 m, with an average depth of 40 m.[7] Its distribution includes tropical and subtropical waters of the Indian Ocean, central Pacific Ocean, and the Atlantic Ocean from the New Jersey coast south to the Brazilian coast, encompassing the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean.[8]

What the specialist sources record

The Discover Fishes account notes that the striated frogfish feeds on crustaceans and benthic fishes such as flounders, shrimp gobies, and the invasive lionfish.[1] According to the same source, frogfish eggs are extruded in a ribbon-like buoyant mass of mucus called an "egg raft," which may transport eggs over large distances.[1] The frogfish.ch site states that the striped frogfish is also called "hairy frogfish" because of its filamentous skin appendages.[9] That site also reports that the similar-looking species Antennarius scaber lives only in the West Atlantic.[9]

Hairy frogfish (Antennarius striatus)
Hairy frogfish (Antennarius striatus). Image: Rickard Zerpe · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The Discover Fishes account lists English common names including striated frogfish, black angler, blotched anglerfish, spitlure frogfish, and striped frogfish.[1] The same source reports a maximum total length of 9.8 inches (25.0 cm), though it more commonly reaches 4 inches (10.0 cm).[1]

References

  1. Bester, "Striated Frogfish Antennarius striatus", Discover Fishes. facts only, no text reused. floridamuseum.ufl.edu
  2. Wikipedia, "Striated frogfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Pietsch TW, "Frogfishes of the world", Stanford University Press, 1987 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Striated frogfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Antennarius striatus", frogfish.ch (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. World Register of Marine Species, Antennarius striatus (AphiaID 158790). CC BY 4.0. marinespecies.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Striated frogfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bester, "Striated Frogfish Antennarius striatus", Discover Fishes (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Striated frogfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; "Antennarius striatus", frogfish.ch; (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Striated frogfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Pietsch, "Science in Pictures: Frogfishes", Scientific American, 1990, p. 96–103; Pietsch TW, "Frogfishes of the world", Stanford University Press, 1987 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Striated frogfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; Williams, Jeffrey T., "Book review of: Frogfishes of the World, by T. W. Pietsch and D. B. Grobecker", National Geographic Research, 1989, p. 277–280; Arnold, R.J., "Evolutionary history of frogfishes (Teleostei: Lophiiformes: Antennariidae): a molecular approach", Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 2012, p. 117–129 [Available online 2 Oct. 2011; publisher listed p; Smith-Vaniz, W., "Marine and inland fishes of St. Croix, U. S. Virgin Islands: an annotated checklist", Zootaxa, 2014, p. 1–120 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. "Antennarius striatus", 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 Striated 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. In what year was the striated frogfish first scientifically described?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 1794.

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

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Antennariidae.

3. To which genus does the striated frogfish belong?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Antennarius.

More questions on TriviaCafe

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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