Antennariidae

Spiny-tufted frogfish

Abantennarius rosaceus

Tiny tufts fringe the second dorsal spine tip

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

Sporting an exceptionally long angling rod and an exquisite rosy-pink livery, the spiny-tufted frogfish is an elusive, delicate dwarf anglerfish residing on deep coral reefs across the Indo-West Pacific. Its globose, laterally compressed body is densely covered with bifurcated spiny spinules and branching cutaneous tassels that mimic the texture of soft corals and encrusting sponges. The background coloration is a rich rosy-pink, coral-red, or reddish-brown, sprinkled with subtle dark speckling. Its definitive anatomical hallmark is an extraordinarily long, whip-like illicium that extends more than twice the length of the second dorsal spine, tipped with a large, bushy, tufted esca resembling a wriggling marine polychaete worm. Distributed from the Red Sea through Indonesia, the Philippines, the Marshall Islands to Lord Howe Island, it inhabits sponge-rich seaward slopes, drop-offs, and coral crevices between ten and forty meters depth. Wiggling its bushy worm lure in front of its mouth, it executes a lightning-fast strike to swallow inquisitive damselfishes and gobies. Maximum total length attains five point eight centimetres.

Sources: Australian Museum — Spiny-tufted Frogfish, Abantennarius rosaceus