Animal Species:Tasselled Anglerfish, Rhycherus filamentosus (Castelnau, 1872)

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.

Tasselled Anglerfish at Blairgowrie Pier

Tasselled Anglerfish at Blairgowrie Pier
Sascha Schulz © Sascha Schulz

Alternative Name/s

Tasselled Angler, Tasselled Frogfish

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.

Size range

The Tasselled Anglerfish grows to 23 cm in length.

Similar Species

Glover's Anglerfish, Rhycherus gloveri

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.

Rhycherus filamentosus

Distribution by collection data

Ozcam map of Tasselled Anglerfish specimens in the Australian Museums.

What does this mean?

Mating and reproduction

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.

Classification

Species:
Rhycherus
Genus:
filamentosus
Family:
Antennariidae
Order:
Lophiiformes
Class:
Actinopterygii
Subphylum:
Vertebrata
Phylum:
Chordata
Kingdom:
Animalia

What does this mean?

References

  1. Gomon, M.F., Bray, D. & R.H. Kuiter (Eds). 2008. The Fishes of Australia's Southern Coast. Reed New Holland. Pp. 928.
  2. Pietsch, T.W. & D.B. Grobecker. 1987. Frogfishes of the World. Systematics, Zoogeography, and Behavioural Ecology. Stanford University Press. Pp. 420.

 


Mark McGrouther , Collection Manager, Ichthyology
Sascha Schulz
Last Updated:

Tags fish, ichthyology, Tasselled Anglerfish, Rhycherus filamentosus, Antennariidae, fleshy tentacles, camouflage, Tasselled Angler, Tasselled Frogfish, brown, red, dark blotches, blotches/mottled, 10 cm - 30 cm, endemic to Autralia, rocky reef, Bass Strait, marine,