Side-jet frogfish (Abantennarius duescus)

Classification (WoRMS)

Full classification as recorded by WoRMS: Kingdom: Animalia · Phylum: Chordata · Class: Teleostei · Order: Lophiiformes · Family: Antennariidae · Genus: Abantennarius.

Accepted name: Abantennarius duescus · Authority: (Snyder, 1904) · Taxonomic status: accepted · AphiaID: 1605259.

Synonyms and superseded combinations recorded for this taxon: Antennarius duescus Snyder, 1904; Antennatus duescus (Snyder, 1904).

Source: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1605259 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-25.

Biology and life history (FishBase)

Measured values published by FishBase for Abantennarius duescus. Only fields the database actually holds for this species are shown; these are database values, not aquarium guidance.

Maximum length: 3 cm · Habitat zone: demersal · Body shape: short and / or deep · Vulnerability index: 10 of 100 · Aquarium trade: never/rarely.

FishBase notes: Benthic (Ref. 58302). Collected in less than 30m (Ref. 090102)

Source: FishBase species summary (SpecCode 27298) — https://www.fishbase.se/summary/Abantennarius-duescus.html (CC BY-NC 3.0 — non-commercial use only). Accessed 2026-09-25.

Conservation status (IUCN Red List)

The IUCN Red List assesses Abantennarius duescus (Snyder, 1904) as Least Concern (code LC). No trend, population estimate or threat analysis is given here, because none is available from this source without the Red List API; follow the source link for the full assessment, including its date.

Source: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (taxon 67968599) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/67968599/0; GBIF IUCN Red List category endpoint (taxonKey 4284206) — https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/4284206/iucnRedListCategory. Accessed 2026-09-25.

Description and natural history (Wikipedia)

Abantennarius duescus was first formally described as Antennarius duescus by the American ichthyologist John Otterbein Snyder with its type locality given as between Maui and Lanai in the Hawaiian Islands. In 1957 Leonard Peter Schultz proposed the genus Abantennarius and designated A. duescus as its type species. The 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies the genus Abantennarius in the family Antennariidae within the suborder Antennarioidei within the order Lophiiformes, the anglerfishes.

Abantennarius duescus has the genus name Abantennarius which prefixes ab, meaning "away from", onto antennarius, a fish of the family Antennaridae. This is an allusion to the gill opening being positioned away from the base of the pectoral fin, which is typically where it is located in frogfishes. The specific name duescus means "two baits", a reference Snyder did not explain. It is thought that it refers to the possession of two escae, the typical one which is the first dorsal-fin spine, then a thinner second dorsal spine with a club-like structure on its tip which resembles an esca.

Abantennarius duescus has been recorded from widely scattered location is the western Pacific Ocean, these include Hawaii (including Midway and Johnston Atoll); Kakaban, Flores and Komodo islands in Indonesia; Madang and Milne Bay in Papua New Guinea; Ouvéa Island in New Caledonia; and Fiji. It is found at depths 10 and 137 m, although the mean depth at which it has been recorded is 23 m, on rocky and coral reefs.

Source: Wikipedia: Abantennarius duescus — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abantennarius_duescus (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-25.