Animal Species:Painted Anglerfish, Antennarius pictus (Shaw & Nodder, 1794)

The Painted Anglerfish's colouration can vary from red, orange and yellow to green, brown or black. It occurs in marine waters throughout much of the tropical and temperate Indo-Pacific.

Painted Anglerfish, Antennarius pictus

Painted Anglerfish, Antennarius pictus
Jason Coombs © Jason Coombs

Alternative Name/s

Black Angler

Identification

The Painted Anglerfish's colouration can vary from red, orange and yellow to green, brown or black. It sometimes has saddle-like markings dorsally. The pectoral fins often have white tips, and the tail commonly has three spots.

Size range

The species grows to 16 cm in length.

Distribution

The Painted Anglerfish occurs in marine waters throughout much of the tropical and temperate Indo-Pacific. In Australia it is known from the central coast of Western Australia, around the tropical north of the country and south to the New South Wales central coast.

The map below shows the Australian distribution of the species based on public sightings and specimens in Australian Museums.  Source: Atlas of Living Australia.

Antennarius pictus

Distribution by collection data

Ozcam map of Painted Anglerfish specimens in the Australian Museums.

What does this mean?

Habitat

The species lives in estuaries and bays, often associated with sponges.

Classification

Species:
pictus
Genus:
Antennarius
Family:
Antennariidae
Order:
Lophiiformes
Class:
Actinopterygii
Subphylum:
Vertebrata
Phylum:
Chordata
Kingdom:
Animalia

What does this mean?

References

  1. Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 292.
  2. Allen, G.R. & R. Swainston. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 201.
  3. Hoese, D.F., Bray, D.J., Paxton, J.R. & G.R. Allen. 2006. Fishes. In Beesley, P.L. & A. Wells. (eds) Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Volume 35. ABRS & CSIRO Publishing: Australia. parts 1-3, pages 1-2178.
  4. Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
  5. Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Gary Allen. Pp. 437.
  6. Pietsch, T.W. & D.B. Grobecker. 1987. Frogfishes of the World. Systematics, Zoogeography, and Behavioural Ecology. Stanford University Press. Pp. 420.
  7. Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 557.

 


Mark McGrouther , Collection Manager, Ichthyology
Last Updated:

Tags Fishes, Ichthyology, Painted Anglerfish, Antennarius pictus, Antennariidae, Black Angler, red, orange, yellow, green, brown, black, saddle-like markings, stripes or bands, three spots, 10 cm - 30 cm, marine, tropical water, temperate water, estuaries, bays, sponges,