Singlespot frogfish (Fowlerichthys radiosus)

Classification (WoRMS)

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

Accepted name: Fowlerichthys radiosus · Authority: (Garman, 1896) · Taxonomic status: accepted · AphiaID: 712508.

Synonyms and superseded combinations recorded for this taxon: Antennarius radiosus Garman, 1896.

Source: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=712508 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Biology and life history (FishBase)

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

Maximum length: 9.399999618530273 cm · Depth range: 20–275 m · Habitat zone: demersal · Body shape: short and / or deep · Vulnerability index: 10 of 100 · Fishery importance: subsistence fisheries · Aquarium trade: never/rarely.

FishBase notes: Inhabits offshore banks and deeper shelf waters (Ref. 7251).

Source: FishBase species summary (SpecCode 3087) — https://www.fishbase.se/summary/Fowlerichthys-radiosus.html (CC BY-NC 3.0 — non-commercial use only). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Distribution and occurrence records (GBIF)

605 georeferenced occurrence records for Fowlerichthys radiosus are published through GBIF from 13 countries or marine areas. The map above plots 164 distinct locations from a sample of 605 records, omitting 16 inland records that carry an institution's coordinates rather than a collection site; it shows where the species has been observed and reported, not a modelled range.

Most records by country or area: United States of America (531); Mexico (53); Bahamas (3); China (3); India (3); Colombia (2); Guyana (2); Portugal (2); Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) (2); Bangladesh (1); Canada (1); Honduras (1); Ireland (1).

Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 7193720) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=7193720&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=712508 (CC BY 4.0); Natural Earth 110m basemap — https://www.naturalearthdata.com/ (public domain). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Conservation status (IUCN Red List)

The IUCN Red List assesses Fowlerichthys radiosus (Garman, 1896) 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 16467178) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/16467178/0; GBIF IUCN Red List category endpoint (taxonKey 7193720) — https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/7193720/iucnRedListCategory. Accessed 2026-09-23.

Description and natural history (Wikipedia)

Fowlerichthys radiosus was first formally described as Antennarius radiosus in 1869 by the American zoologist Samuel Garman with its type locality given as off Key West in Florida. In 1941 Thomas Barbour described a new species, Fowlerichthys floridanus, from off Palm Beach, Florida and classified it in a new genus called Fowlerichthys and designated F. floridanus as its type species. F. floridanus is now considered to be a junior synonym of Antennarius radiosus. The 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies the genus Fowlerichthys in the family Antennariidae within the suborder Antennarioidei within the order Lophiiformes, the anglerfishes.

Fowlerichthys radiosus has the genus name Fowlerichthys which combines Fowler, honouring the American ichthyologist Henry Weed Fowler of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia who gave Barbour the type specimen of the type species of the genus, F. floridanus, with ichthys, which means fish. The specific name, radiosus, means "rayed", a reference to illicium being twice as long as that of its presumed congener Antennarius tigris.

Fowlerichthys radiosus has a somewhat compressed, globose body with the large eyes placed on the sides of the head and a large upwardly pointing mouth with many small teeth. The small gill openings are located to the rear and below the base of the pectoral fin, which is limb-like with and elbow like joint and broad connection to the body. There are 3 dorsal spines and a dorsal fin which contains 13 soft rays. The first dorsal spine, the illicium is roughly equal in length to the second dorsal spine and is topped with a small esca which is a small folded oval. The second dorsal spine is not very curved and is connected to the skin on the head by a membrane. The third dorsal spine is moveable and is not connected to the skin on the head. The anal fin contains 9 soft rays, there is a caudal peduncle and the rear edges of the dorsal and anal fins are not connected to the caudal fin. The skin on the body has a dense covering of bifurcated spicules. The color of this fish is brown to beige, the anal, caudal and dorsal fins are sometimes barred/ The illicium is normally marked with pale bands. There is a single large ocellus on the upper body and the base of the dorsal fin and there are short dark lines radiating out from the eye. Fishbase gives the maximum published standard length of 9.4 cm for this species but the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute gives the maximum length as 25 cm.

Fowlerichthys radiosus is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean from Long Island in New York south to Cuba and the Gulf of Mexico, and along the northern South American coast between Colombia and Surinam. It has also been reported from Madeira in the eastern Atlantic. The singlespot frogfish is found at depths between 20 and 275 m on offshore banks and the deeper waters of the continental shelf.

Fowlerichthys radiosus is an aggressive, piscivorous predator but when it is not hunting it is a rather sedentary fish. The female's ovaries resemble tightly wound double scrolls and when they lay eggs these are encased in a gelatinous mass which floats. The prejuveniles of the singlespot frogfish do through a developmental stage called the "scutatus stage" in which bony plates extend backwards from the cranium to past the level of the opercular bones.

Source: Wikipedia: Fowlerichthys radiosus — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fowlerichthys_radiosus (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.