Odd Frogs
Posted on Jun 05, 2008 by bruce_moore
In the realm of frogfish taxonomy, there exists room to debate over what is exactly what. In this post I'll throw in my proverbial two cents worth, pointing out a possible hybrid of A. pictus and A. maculatus along with identifying two distinct esca ("fishing lure") shapes on the Lembeh frogfish.Painted Clown:
The painted frogfish (A. pictus) can be almost any color imaginable and can be "clean" or "scabby" and can even have the markings of A. maculatus, though the background spots give them away as A. pictus. Fish experts can point out fin configuration as a sure path o proper identification, but for most divers, noticing their spots and their particular "fishing tackle", comprising of an illicium ("fishing pole") and esca ("lure") is what makes an ID a certainty.
With the clown frogfish (A. maculatus), they have no spots and a come in two color patterns which are easily identifiable: a base of white or yellow with markings in red or brown (always red in juveniles and usually brown in adults though red is occasionally seen). They also have bumps, which is why some divers call them warty frogfish. Their illicium is much longer than their painted counterparts while their esca is more akin to a shredded flag as opposed to the esca of the painted frogfish, which is like a small filamentous pom-pom.
But in various books I have seen frogfish, identified as A. maculatus, that have the illicium and esca you would expect of that species along with their bumpy skin, but wildly variable coloring in a mottled pattern not associated with the species as well as the spots of the A. pictus. In this variation, I've never seen juveniles, which is curious. But what makes me wonder is the frequency which I've seen mating pairs of the two species mixed together, which I've never seen of other Antennarius species. So could it be possible that this is a hybrid? Or just an adult variation?
Lembeh Frogfish:
There exists a relatively new species of frogfish that is commonly seen in Lembeh Strait and has yet to be officially named. It goes by the name Lembeh frogfish and was first pointed out to me by Scott Michael in a clear photo of a purple individual caught in the act of "fishing" at Hairball several years ago. His excellent picture clearly showed an esca that had a striking resemblance to a clear shrimp, complete with black eyespots.
I, along with everyone else, lazily classified this species as A. striatus / hairy frogfish. But on closer inspection it became apparent that the two species are quite different. The Lembeh frogfish is "fuzzy" as opposed to "hairy" and the stripes and spots seem wider and more jagged which is somewhat different from the markings of the A. striatus. There are more color variations in the Lembeh species, including pink, gray and light or dark purple that are not seen on A. striatus, which are usually white, whitish pink, black or tan through dark brown, with occasional specimens yellow or orange.
Over the years we commonly find Lembeh frogfish on muck sites through Lembeh Strait, but I've noticed two distinct esca: the "shrimp", which is rarely seen and a "moustache" - just like on the character you see on the can of Pringles chips - which is the common form. So are these two different species? I believe so.[ << Return to News Page ]