Teleostei (teleosts) >
Lophiiformes (Anglerfishes) >
Histiophrynidae (Starfingered frogfishes)
Etymology: Histiophryne: Greek, istion, istos = sail + Greek, phryne = toad (Ref. 45335); psychedelica: Named for the unique pigment pattern of swirling concentric rings and stripes covering the head, body, and fins.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; demersal; depth range 5 - 10 m (Ref. 90102). Tropical
Distribution
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri
Western Pacific: Indonesia.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 6.5 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 80493); 8.7 cm SL (female)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 3; Dorsal soft rays (total): 13; Anal soft rays: 7; Vertebrae: 20. This species is unique in having a broad flat face, surrounded by thick, fleshy, laterally expanded cheeks and chin, with eyes directed anteriorly; body skin thick and loose, forming conspicuous fleshy folds that envelop the unpaired fins; a pigment pattern of white stripes runs from the eyes and continuing back to the body and tip of the caudal fin; genetic divergence in the nuclear recombination activation gene-2 (RAG2), cytochrome oxidase-I (COI), and 16S rRNA genes (Ref. 80493).
This species was found at a depth of 5-7 m, within 100 m of the commercial jetty in the harbor at Ambon City (its type locality that was previously well known to divers as the ‘‘Twilight Zone,’’ because of the presence of many rare animals); currents varied from virtually nonexistent to strong; visibility varied between about 10 and 30 m; sea floor in this location slopes gently near shore, but more steeply below 10 m, quickly reaching a depth of 100 m or more; aside from the coral rubble, the bottom was littered with a variety of human refuse; and both individuals were consistently found hidden among coarse coral rubble, usually encrusted with ascidians, sponges, and coralline algae (Ref. 80493).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Pietsch, T.W., R.J. Arnold and D.J. Hall, 2009. A bizarre new species of frogfish of the genus Histiophryne (Lophiiformes: Antennariidae) from Ambon and Bali, Indonesia. Copeia 2009(1):37-45. (Ref. 80493)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5312 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01995 (0.00906 - 0.04395), b=3.01 (2.83 - 3.19), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.7 ±0.6 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Fec assumed to be > 10,000).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
