New Guinean frogfish

Lore & Background

Abantennarius dorehensis was first formally described as Antennarius dorehensis in 1859 by the Dutch physician, herpetologist and ichthyologist Pieter Bleeker, with its type locality given as Doreh Bay, off Manokwari in West Papua, New Guinea. The genus name Abantennarius prefixes ab, meaning 'away from', onto antennarius, a fish of the family Antennariidae, alluding to the gill opening being positioned away from the base of the pectoral fin. The specific name dorehensis denotes the type locality of Doreh Bay.

The New Guinean frogfish has the globose, short, deep and weakly compressed body typical of frogfishes. The opening of the gill is located close to or on the 'arm-like' base of the pectoral fin. The illicium has a bony part shorter than the second dorsal spine, with an esca that may be a simple oval or tapering and lacking dark basal swellings or filaments. The skin is densely covered with two-pointed spinules. Colour varies from pale grey, pale yellow to dark brown and black, with numerous small whitish spots on the head, body and base of the pectoral fin. The fins range from dark violet to brownish grey, and in darker fishes the margins of the dorsal, anal and caudal fins are pale. There may be an indistinct spot at the base of the soft dorsal fin.

Reader's Guide

The New Guinean frogfish is an ambush predator, remaining very still and camouflaged to its environment, waving the esca in front of its mouth to lure prey within range. It has separate sexes and external fertilisation; females lay eggs within a floating gelatinous mass or raft, and the eggs remain there until the planktonic larvae hatch. The species has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution, occurring along the eastern coast of Africa (Kenya, Inhaca Island in Mozambique, Aldabra, and the Comoro Islands), and in the eastern Indian Ocean and western Pacific from the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Rowley Shoals north to the Ryukyu Islands and east to French Polynesia. It is found on intertidal reef flats at depths down to 10 m. The 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies the genus Abantennarius in the family Antennariidae within the suborder Antennarioidei of the order Lophiiformes, the anglerfishes.

Did You Know?

• The specific name dorehensis refers to the type locality of Doreh Bay in West Papua.
• The genus name Abantennarius means 'away from antennarius', referring to the gill opening being away from the pectoral fin base.
• This species has a maximum published standard length of 14 cm.
• The esca (lure) may be a simple oval or tapering and lacks dark basal swellings or filaments.