Common Name
Island Frogfish
Year Described
Schultz, 1957
Identification
Dorsal Fin: III, 12
Anal Fin: 7
Pelvic Fin: 5
Pectoral Fin: 9-10
Caudal Fin: 9 bifurcate rays
Vertebrae: 19
Body globose with a large terminal mouth that is strongly oblique. Dermal spinules bifurcate. Skin thick and firm with many warts and rough patches caused by concentrations of spinules. No naked patches near lateral line. Illicium well developed and naked; filamentous. Illicium shorter than second dorsal spine. Esca a blob of round bulbs and short flaps/filaments. Second dorsal spine connected broadly to third dorsal spine.
Pectoral fin lobe attached. Pelvic fin with only last ray branched (rest simple). Caudal peduncle absent (median fins attached to caudal fin by membrane). Pseudobranch absent.
Color
Fairly plain colored: brown to tan or orangish with pale reticulations and faint spots. A single large ocellus under soft dorsal fin is the only consistent marking. Pale lines radiate from the eye
Size
A small species: reaches 77mm SL.
Habitat
Coral reefs from 4-30m. Appears to be more common around islands.
Range
Scattered records from the Bahamas to Venezuela in the Caribbean. Also Bermuda.
References
Pietsch, T.W. & Arnold, R.J. 2020. Frogfishes: Biodiversity, Zoogeography, and Behavioral Ecology. JHU Press.