Senegalese frogfish (Fowlerichthys senegalensis)
Source-cited species reference: taxonomy from WoRMS, biology from FishBase, occurrence map from GBIF, conservation from IUCN Red List, description from Wikipedia.
Fowlerichthys senegalensis, the Senegalese frogfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Antennariidae, the frogfishes. This fish is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean off the western coast of Africa.
- Scientific name
- Fowlerichthys senegalensis
- Authority
- (Cadenat, 1959)
- Family
- Antennariidae
- Order
- Lophiiformes
- Maximum length
- 28.5 cm
- Depth range
- 10–80 m
- Habitat zone
- demersal
- Iucn red list
- Least Concern
- Gbif occurrence records
- 422
Classification (WoRMS)
Full classification as recorded by WoRMS: Kingdom: Animalia · Phylum: Chordata · Class: Teleostei · Order: Lophiiformes · Family: Antennariidae · Genus: Fowlerichthys.
Accepted name: Fowlerichthys senegalensis · Authority: (Cadenat, 1959) · Taxonomic status: accepted · AphiaID: 318081.
Synonyms and superseded combinations recorded for this taxon: Antennarius senegalensis Cadenat, 1959.
Source: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=318081 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.
Biology and life history (FishBase)
Measured values published by FishBase for Fowlerichthys senegalensis. Only fields the database actually holds for this species are shown; these are database values, not aquarium guidance.
Maximum length: 28.5 cm · Depth range: 10–80 m · Habitat zone: demersal · Body shape: short and / or deep · Vulnerability index: 24.8 of 100 · Aquarium trade: never/rarely.
FishBase notes: Neritic species (Ref. 10959). Occurs in marine or brackish water (Ref. 57225).
Source: FishBase species summary (SpecCode 12804) — https://www.fishbase.se/summary/Fowlerichthys-senegalensis.html (CC BY-NC 3.0 — non-commercial use only). Accessed 2026-09-23.
Distribution and occurrence records (GBIF)
422 georeferenced occurrence records for Fowlerichthys senegalensis are published through GBIF from 18 countries or marine areas. The map above plots 38 distinct locations from a sample of 422 records, omitting 30 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: Nigeria (78); Gabon (56); Ghana (49); Liberia (48); Côte d’Ivoire (46); Cameroon (27); Sierra Leone (26); Guinea (23); Guinea-Bissau (15); Equatorial Guinea (13); Congo, Democratic Republic of the (8); Congo (8); Togo (8); Benin (6); Senegal (4).
Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 2414605) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=2414605&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=318081 (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 senegalensis (Cadenat, 1959) 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 21112836) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/21112836/0; GBIF IUCN Red List category endpoint (taxonKey 2414605) — https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/2414605/iucnRedListCategory. Accessed 2026-09-23.
Description and natural history (Wikipedia)
Fowlerichthys senegalensis was first formally described as Antennarius senegalensis in 1959 by the French ichthyologist Jean Cadenat with its type locality given as Cap des Biches in Senegal. Within the genus this species is most closely related to the ocellated frogfish (F. ocellatus). 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 senegalensis 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, senegalensis, means "of Senegal", the type locality.
Fowlerichthys senegalensis has 3 dorsal spines, a dorsal fin with 14 soft rays and an anal fin with between 6 and 10 soft rays. The body is globular in shape and short with a large mouth with numerous small teeth. The first dorsal spine, the illicium has a small esca and it is almost the same length as the second dorsal spine. The rough skin has a dense covering of bifurcate spines. The pectoral fin lobes are connected to the body, The overall colour is mottle brown in life with a dark, pale margined ocellus below the base of the dorsal fin on each side of the body. This species has a maximum published standard length of 28.5 cm.
Fowlerichthys senegalensis is found in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean off the western coast of Africa between Morocco south as far as Angola, including the Cape Verde Islands and the islands in the Gulf of Guinea. The Senegalese frogfish is found at depths between 45 and 115 m on rocky reefs and sandy and muddy areas below the low tide mark.
Source: Wikipedia: Fowlerichthys senegalensis — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fowlerichthys_senegalensis (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.
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