Tasselled Anglerfish, Rhycherus filamentosus (Castelnau, 1872)
Tasselled Angler, Tasselled Frogfish
Glover's Anglerfish, Rhycherus gloveri
Click to enlarge image
© Sascha Schulz
Fast Facts
-
Classification
- Genus
- filamentosus
- Species
- Rhycherus
- Family
- Antennariidae
- Order
- Lophiiformes
- Class
- Actinopterygii
- Subphylum
- Vertebrata
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Kingdom
- Animalia
-
- Size Range
- The Tasselled Anglerfish grows to 23 cm in length.
Introduction
The Tasselled Anglerfish is covered with fleshy tentacles which provides it with camouflage in its natural habitat. The species can be very hard to spot when it remains motionless among sponges and algae.
Identification
This species is brown to red above. There are dark blotches or bars on the sides separated by whitish areas extending up from below. It has a dorsal fin comprising four parts. The first is a long illicium with an esca that resembles two worms. The second and third dorsal spines are separate. These are followed by 12 to 13 soft rays.
The Tasselled Anglerfish is very similar to the Glover's Anglerfish. They can be separated by the shape of their escas and length of the illicium, which is longer in the Tasselled Anglerfish.
Distribution
It is endemic to Australia, living on kelp covered rocky reefs from Bass Strait to South Australia.
The map below shows the Australian distribution of the species based on public sightings and specimens in Australian Museums. Source: Atlas of Living Australia.
Breeding behaviours
Females lay about 5 000 eggs in a large mass. Each egg has a long double filament that sticks to growth on the surrounding rocks.
References
- Gomon, M.F., Bray, D. & R.H. Kuiter (Eds). 2008. The Fishes of Australia's Southern Coast. Reed New Holland. Pp. 928.
- Pietsch, T.W. & D.B. Grobecker. 1987. Frogfishes of the World. Systematics, Zoogeography, and Behavioural Ecology. Stanford University Press. Pp. 420.
