Three-spot frogfish (Lophiocharon trisignatus)

Classification (WoRMS)

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

Accepted name: Lophiocharon trisignatus · Authority: (Richardson, 1844) · Taxonomic status: accepted · AphiaID: 281393.

Synonyms and superseded combinations recorded for this taxon: Antennarius asper MacLeay, 1881; Antennarius lindgreeni Bleeker, 1855; Antennarius trisignatus (Richardson, 1844); Antennarius urophthalmus Bleeker, 1851; Chironectes trisignatus Richardson, 1844; Lophiocharon broomensis Whitley, 1933.

Source: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=281393 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Biology and life history (FishBase)

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

Maximum length: 14.699999809265137 cm · Depth range: 2–52 m · Habitat zone: reef-associated · Body shape: short and / or deep · Vulnerability index: 10 of 100 · Fishery importance: of no interest · Aquarium trade: never/rarely.

FishBase notes: A benthic species (Ref. 75154) which occurs in inshore waters near reefs (Ref. 7300, 75154). Oviparous (Ref. 205). Egg clusters are attached to the side of the body of the male parent, either as brooding strategy or as aid in luring other fish for food (Ref. 6773). Solitary, usually under wharf pilings or among debris (Ref 90102).

Source: FishBase species summary (SpecCode 10330) — https://www.fishbase.se/summary/Lophiocharon-trisignatus.html (CC BY-NC 3.0 — non-commercial use only). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Distribution and occurrence records (GBIF)

115 georeferenced occurrence records for Lophiocharon trisignatus are published through GBIF from 4 countries or marine areas. The map above plots 27 distinct locations from a sample of 115 records, omitting 10 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: Australia (93); Singapore (18); Indonesia (2); Malaysia (2).

Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 2414524) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=2414524&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=281393 (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 Lophiocharon trisignatus (Richardson, 1844) 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 67969378) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/67969378/0; GBIF IUCN Red List category endpoint (taxonKey 2414524) — https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/2414524/iucnRedListCategory. Accessed 2026-09-23.

Description and natural history (Wikipedia)

Lophiocharon trisignatus was first formally described as Chironectes trisignatus by the Scottish naval surgeon, Arctic explorer and naturalist John Richardson in the Ichthyology of the voyage of H.M.S. Erebus & Terror:under the command of Captain Sir James Clark Ross, R.N., F.R.S., with its type locality given as Broome, Western Australia. In 1933 Gilbert Percy Whitley described a new species of fish Lophiocharon broomensis, also from Broome, which he designated as the type species of a new monospecific genus, Lophiocharon. Whitley's L. broomensis is now considered to be a synonym of Richardson's C. trisignatus. Some authorities classify Lophiocharon in the subfamily Histiophryninae within the family Antennariidae., while others recognise it as the family Histiophrynidae. However, the 5th edition of Fishes of the World does not recognise subfamilies within the Antennariidae, classifying the family within the suborder Antennarioidei within the order Lophiiformes, the anglerfishes.

Lophiocharon trisignatus has the genus name Lophiocharon, which Richardson did not explain. It is thought to be a combination of Lophius, the type genus of the order Lophiiformes, and may be being used as a general term for anglerfishes, with Charon, the ferryman who ferried the dead across the Styx. The specific name, trisin=gnatus means "marked three times", an allusion to the three spots on the sides of some specimens.

Lophiocharon trisignatus has the second and third dorsal spines free of the skin and not hidden underneath it. All of the fin rays in the caudal fin are bifurcate. The skin has a covering of dermal denticles and the third dorsal spine is joined for more than a quarter of its length to the nape by a membrane or is connected to the soft dorsal fin by skin, and is connected to the second spine at its base. The caudal fin is typically marked with translucent ocelli between every second fin ray. The illicium, or fishing rod, is long and naked and is tipped with a large and complex esca, or lure. This fish does not have a caudal peduncle and the rear margins of the dorsal and anal fins are joined to thee base of the outermost fin rays of the caudal fin. The lobe of the pectoral fin resembles and arm and is widely connected to the body. The dorsal fin is supported by 12 or 13 soft rays while the anal fin contains between 6 and 8 soft rays. The spot-tail anglerfish has a maximum published standard length of 14.7 cm, making it the largest of the three Lophiocharon anglerfishes.

Lophiocharon trisignatus is found in the Indo-Pacific region from Singapore east through Indonesia to the Philippines south to Australia. In Australia it ranges from Shark Bay in Western Australia north and east to Thursday Island in Queensland. It is found at depths between 2 and 52 m, although typically no deeper than 20 m, among coastal coral and rocky reefs, as well as under wharf pilings or amongst debris and rubble.

Lophiocharon trisignatus is a solitary fish. The illicium and esca are used to lure potential prey, typically small fishes, to within the striking distance of the large mouth. Frogfishes and anglerfishes are inefficient swimmers, and prefer to move around using their limb like pectoral fins to shuffle along the substrate. The female lays a cluster of eggs that the male broods, attching it to the side of his body. There may be as many as 650 large, <3 mm, round eggs in the cluster. The egg cluster may also serve to attract prey.

Source: Wikipedia: Lophiocharon trisignatus — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lophiocharon_trisignatus (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.