Frogfish

The frogfish family, Antennariidae, has its name derived from Antennarius, its type genus. Antennarius suffixes -ius to antenna, an allusion to first dorsal spine being adapted into a tentacle on the snout used as a lure to attract prey. ==Taxonomy==

Antennariidae was first proposed as a family in 1822 by the Polish zoologist Feliks Paweł Jarocki. Other authorities recognise two subfamilies, the Antennariinae and the Histiophryninae, while others treat these as two separate families. The Antennariidae is classified within the suborder Antennarioidei within the order Lophiiformes, the anglerfishes. Genera (Thymichthys politus) '' (Histrio histrio) The following classification is based on ''Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes, based on Maile et al.'' (2025): Subfamily Antennariinae Jarocki 1822 (Fibonacci frogfishes) • Abantennarius Schultz, 1957 • Antennarius Daudin, 1816 • Antennatus Schultz, 1957 • †Eophryne Carnevale & Pietsch, 2009 (Early Eocene of Italy) • Orrichthys Carnevale & Pietsch, 2010 (Early Eocene of Italy) • Pezichthys Last & Gledhill, 2009 • Sympterichthys Gill, 1878 • Thymichthys Last & Gledhill, 2009 Subfamily Fowlerichthyinae Maile et al., 2025 (fanfin frogfishes) • Fowlerichthys Barbour, 1941 • Neilpeartia Carnevale et al., 2020 Subfamily Histiophryninae Arnold & Pietsch, 2012 (starfingered frogfishes) • Histiophryne Gill, 1863 Subfamily Lophichthyinae Boeseman, 1964 (lophichthyin frogfishes) • Lophichthys Boeseman, 1964 • Lophiocharon Whitley, 1933 Subfamily Rhycherinae Hart et al., 2022 (Balrog frogfishes) • Allenichthys Pietsch, 1984 • Echinophryne McCulloch & Waite, 1918 • Kuiterichthys Pietsch, 1984 • Phyllophryne Pietsch, 1984 • Porophryne Arnold, Harcourt & Pietsch, 2014 • Rhycherus Ogilby, 1907 Subfamily Tathicarpinae Hart et al., 2022 (longfin frogfishes) • Tathicarpus Ogilby, 1907 Subfamily Tetrabrachiinae Regan, 1912 (tetrabrachiin frogfishes) • Dibrachichthys Pietsch, J. W. Johnson & Arnold, 2009 • Tetrabrachium Günther, 1880 = Extinct The division of the family into multiple subfamilies is a recent treatment, as previously the Brachionichthyinae, the Lophichthyinae, and the Tetrabrachiinae were treated as their own families. Histiophrynidae was described as its own family in 2012. In 2022, these four families were found to be paraphyletic with respect to the former treatment of Antennariidae, and due to this, Rhycherinae and Tathicarpinae (both previously placed in Antennariidae) were uplifted to their own families. A 2025 phylogenetic study combining Ultra-Conserved Elements (UCE)s, mitochondrial DNA, and morphological data found even this treatment to be paraphyletic, with Fowlerichthyinae being recognized as a distinct clade. However, to avoid taxonomic oversplitting, it was described as a distinct subfamily instead, and the Brachionichthyidae, Histiophrynidae, Lophichthyidae, Rhycheridae, Tathicarpidae, and Tetrabrachiidae were downgraded to subfamilies within the Antennariidae. The most basal member of the family is thought to be the Fowlerichthyinae. and a fanfin frogfish related to Fowlerichthys (Neilpeartia). ==Range==

Frogfishes live in the tropical and subtropical regions of the Atlantic and Pacific, as well as in the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. Their habitat lies for the most part between the 20 °C isotherms, in areas where the surface level water usually has a temperature of or more. They extend beyond the 20 °C isotherms in the area of the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands, along the Atlantic coast of the United States, on the south coast of Australia and the northern tip of New Zealand, coastal Japan, around Durban, South Africa, and at Baja California, Mexico. The greatest diversity of species is in the Indo-Pacific region, with the highest concentration around Indonesia. In the small Lembeh Strait, north-east of Sulawesi, divers have found 9 different species. Frogfish live generally on the ocean floor around coral or rock reefs, at most to deep. A few exceptions to these general limits are known. The brackishwater frogfish is at home in ocean waters as well as brackish and fresh water around river mouths. The sargassum fish lives in clumps of drifting sargassum, which often floats into the deeper ocean and has been known to take the sargassum fish as far north as Norway. ==Description==

, with upturned mouth, very distinct spinules, and esca in the form of a white worm , Philippines Frogfishes have a stocky appearance, atypical of fish. Ranging from long, their plump, high-backed, unstreamlined body is scaleless and bare, often covered with bumpy, bifurcated spinules. Their short bodies have between 18 and 23 vertebrae and their mouths are upward-pointed with palatal teeth. They are often brightly coloured, white, yellow, red, green, or black or spotted in several colours to blend in with their coral surroundings. Rather than typical dorsal fins, the front-most of the three fins is called the illicium or "rod" and is topped with the esca or "lure". The illicium often has striped markings, while the esca takes a different form in each species. Because of the variety of colours even within a single species, the esca and illicium are useful tools to differentiate among different varieties. Some of them resemble fish, some shrimp, some polychaetes, some tubeworms, and some simply a formless lump; one genus, Echinophryne, has no esca at all. Despite very specific mimicry in the esca, examinations of stomach contents do not reveal any specialized predation ‌for example, only worm-eating fish consumed by frogfishes with worm-mimicking esca. If lost, the esca can be regenerated. In many species, the illicium and esca can be withdrawn into a depression between the second and third dorsal fins for protection when they are not needed. Frogfish have small, round gill openings behind their pectoral fins. With the exception of Butler's frogfish and the rough anglerfish, frogfish use a gas bladder to control their buoyancy. Mimicry and camouflage The unusual appearance of the frogfish functions to conceal it from predators and sometimes to mimic a potential meal to lure it in. In the study of animal behavior, this is known as aggressive mimicry. Their unusual shape, colour, and skin textures disguise frogfish. Some resemble stones or coral, while others imitate sponges or sea squirts with dark splotches instead of holes. In 2005, a species was discovered, the striated frogfish, that mimics a sea urchin, while the sargassumfish is coloured to blend in with the surrounding sargassum. In aquaria and in nature, frogfish have been observed, when flushed from their hiding spots and clearly visible, to be attacked by clownfish, damselfish, and wrasses, and in aquaria, to be killed. Many frogfishes can change their colour. They rarely swim, preferring to clamber over the sea bottom with their fins in one of two "gaits". The water flows out through the gills, while the prey is swallowed and the esophagus closed with a special muscle to keep the victim from escaping. In addition to expanding their mouths, frogfish can also expand their stomachs to swallow animals up to twice their size. For most species, the eggs drift on the surface. After two to five days, the fish hatch and the newly hatched alevin are between long. For the first few days, they live on the yolk sac while their digestive systems continue to develop. The young have long fin filaments and can resemble tiny, tentacled jellyfish. For one to two months, they live planktonically. After this stage, at a length between , they have the form of adult frogfish and begin their lives on the sea floor. Young frogfish often mimic the coloration of poisonous sea slugs or flatworms. File:Commerson's Frogfish, Kona, Hawaii.jpg|Commerson's frogfish, Kona, Hawaii, Antennarius commerson File:Oscellated Frogfish.jpg|Ocellated frogfish, Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles, A. ocellatus File:Red oscellated frogfish.jpg|Red ocellated frogfish, St. Kitts, F. ocellatus File:6903 aquaimages.jpg|Longlure frogfish, Bonaire, A. multiocellatus File:Scarlet frogfish-Antennarius coccineus BK.jpg|Scarlet frogfish, A. coccineus File:Antennarius pictus.JPG|Painted frogfish, A. pictus File:Clown frogfish.jpg|Warty frogfish, A. maculatus File:HanaOZ.jpg|Sargassum fish, Histrio histrio ==References==