Antennariidae

New Guinean frogfish

Abantennarius dorehensis

Intertidal flats wear grey yellow to near black

• Tropical
• Transcontinental
• Marine fish
• Indian Ocean
• Pacific Ocean
• Africa
• Southeast Asia
• Deep-bodied
• Compressed cross-section
• Small
• Tropical fish

A master of cryptic deception residing on shallow intertidal reef flats, the New Guinean frogfish is a compact, high-backed benthic anglerfish distributed across the tropical Indo-Pacific. Its chunky, globular body features a pronounced humped dorsal outline, enveloped in thick skin covered with microscopic spinules and small cutaneous flaps. Coloration is highly polymorphic, varying from ash-grey, cream, and pink to deep chocolate-brown with dark marbling, seamlessly mimicking encrusting sponges and algae-covered limestone rubble. Its illicium is relatively short, roughly equal in length to the second dorsal spine and tipped with a small, simple esca that twitches to mimic a struggling marine worm. Distributed from the East African coast and Aldabra Islands through Indonesia, the Philippines, and New Guinea eastward to Tahiti and the Ryukyu Islands, it occupies tide pools, reef crests, and shallow rubble slopes from the surface down to ten meters depth. Anchoring securely to coral blocks with its limb-like pectoral fins, it engulfs small blennies, gobies, and decapod shrimps. Maximum recorded total length reaches fourteen centimetres.

Sources: FishBase — New Guinean Frogfish, Abantennarius dorehensis