Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 0 - 293 m (Ref. 6773), usually 19 - 20 m (Ref. 90102). Subtropical; 40°N - 50°S, 1°W - 147°W (Ref. 57374)
Eastern Atlantic: Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, and St. Helena. Indo-Pacific: Red Sea, Persian Gulf and East Africa to the Hawaiian and Society islands, north to Japan, south to New Zealand.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 13.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4113)
Dorsal spines (total): 3; Dorsal soft rays (total): 12 - 13; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 7 - 8. Color variable, yellow, pink, red, brown, or black. a dark spot at base of posterior dorsal rays (a black phase with tips of pectoral rays white also occurs, Ref# 1602). Illicium about equal in length with 2nd dorsal spine. Bulbous esca with filamentous tentacles (resembling a stout-bodied shrimp, Ref# 1602). Last pelvic fin ray bifurcate. Caudal peduncle present. Eyes usually with bands radiating from its pupil (Ref. 48635).
Body shape (shape guide): short and / or deep; Cross section: compressed.
Sedentary (Ref. 68964). Inhabit intertidal zone to depths of at least 25 m on both lagoon and seaward reefs. May be taken anywhere from the surface to approximately 176 m in the Indo-Pacific area, average depth of known captures at 19 m. Those from Eastern Atlantic at deeper waters, between 44 and 293 m, average depth of 107 m. In life, its esca resembles a tiny stout-bodied shrimp (Ref. 37816). Benthic (Ref. 58302). Oviparous. Eggs are bound in ribbon-like sheath or mass of gelatinous mucus called 'egg raft' or 'veil' (Ref. 6773). Voracious carnivore, attracting prey with front of their cavernous mouth by wriggling their baitshaped first dorsal spine (lure) (Ref. 68964).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Oviparous. Eggs are bound in ribbon-like sheath or mass of gelatinous mucus called 'egg raft' or 'veil' (Ref. 6773).
Pietsch, T.W. and D.B. Grobecker, 1987. Frogfishes of the world. Systematics, zoogeography, and behavioral ecology. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California. 420 p. (Ref. 6773)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: of no interest
Tools
Special reports
Download XML
Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 24.2 - 29, mean 28.2 °C (based on 110 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5020 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.02630 (0.01029 - 0.06725), b=2.96 (2.73 - 3.19), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 4.2 ±0.73 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Fec = 48,800).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
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Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 38.1 [15.9, 94.0] mg/100g; Iron = 0.643 [0.318, 1.325] mg/100g; Protein = 19.2 [16.7, 22.5] %; Omega3 = 0.22 [0.08, 0.60] g/100g; Selenium = 14.5 [5.5, 39.2] μg/100g; VitaminA = 146 [33, 675] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.755 [0.435, 1.248] mg/100g (wet weight);
