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Identification Key Frogfishes

Indian Ocean (including the Red Sea)- Frogfishes with long lures

All frogfish species listed here are living in the Indian Ocean (including the Red Sea) and are not striped.
For striped frogfishes living in the Indian Ocean (including the Red Sea) click here.
For a overwiew of all frogfishes from this area click here.

These frogfishes are common Indian Ocean and have a long luring apparatus:

The 3 frogfish species listed below belong to the so called pictus group. They look quite similar and are often confused with each other. Means of identification for frogfishes of the Antennarius pictus group.

Antennarius commerson (Giant frogfish)

		Information 30cm

Antennarius maculatus (Warty or Clown frogfish)

		Information 8-10cm
Juvenile - Jungtier:

Antennarius pictus (Painted frogfish)

		Information 10-16cm

Abantennarius coccineus and Abantennarius nummifer both belong to the genus Abantennarius (formerly Antennatus) and are difficult to distinguish from each other. Here some characteristics that might help with an identification:

Abantennarius coccineus - Lacks distinct tail base (dorsal and anal fins end at base of tail fin)
Abantennarius nummifer - has a large darkly pigmented basidorsal spot. The lure can have different shapes, but is mostly small and most of the time round but sometimes with filaments and dark swellings.

Abantennarius coccineus (Freckled frogfish)

		Information 9-13cm

Abantennarius nummifer (Spotfin frogfish)

		Information 10cm

These frogfishes are common Indian Ocean selten bis sehr selten vor:

Antennatus tuberosus shows honeycomb patterns on its skin, its color is yellow, redish and pink and it has a striped tail.

Antennatus tuberosus (Bandfin frogfish)

		Information 7cm

This identification key is only for species of the subfamily Antennariinae (frogfishes, family Antennariidae, suborder Antennarioidei) which are frogfishes living in tropical and Subtropical waters.
Please take note, that this is a simplified identification key. Ichthyologists use tables with the number of dorsal, anal and pectoral rays, the length of the illicium and other distinguishing characteristics for means of identification.