Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 0 - 66 m (Ref. 9710). Subtropical; 19°N - 1°S, 89°W - 48°W (Ref. 55171)
Western Atlantic: Bermuda, Florida Keys (USA), Gulf of Mexico, Bahamas; Greater Antilles (including Cuba, Hispanola, Puerto Rico, Jamaica and Cayman Is.), Virgin Is.; Lesser Antilles (island chain south of the British Virgin Islands to Grenada); western Caribbean (ne tip of the Yucatan Peninsula to Colombia, including offshore islands; northern South America (region north of Amazon River including Trinidad and Tobago and off coasts of Colombia, Venezuela. Eastern Atlantic: Ascension Island.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 20.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7251)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Inhabit shallow reefs (Ref. 9710). Commonly found in areas with sponges; background hue of the fish conforms to that of the dominant sponge in the areas and the ocelli look like openings in the sponge. Feed mainly on fishes, but also eat crustaceans (Ref. 13442). A voracious predator, with many color phases used for camouflage. Oviparous (Ref. 205). Eggs are bound in ribbon-like sheath or mass of gelatinous mucus called 'egg raft' or 'veil' (Ref. 6773). Most common frogfish in the West Indies (Ref. 26938).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Oviparous.
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray, 1986. A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p. (Ref. 7251)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: subsistence fisheries; aquarium: commercial
Tools
Special reports
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 27.1 - 28.3, mean 27.8 °C (based on 78 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5005 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.02630 (0.01029 - 0.06725), b=2.96 (2.73 - 3.19), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 4.3 ±0.7 se; based on diet studies.
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).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 33.2 [14.6, 80.1] mg/100g; Iron = 0.619 [0.309, 1.196] mg/100g; Protein = 19.5 [17.0, 22.7] %; Omega3 = 0.182 [0.066, 0.484] g/100g; Selenium = 12.3 [4.9, 32.9] μg/100g; VitaminA = 114 [27, 508] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.686 [0.399, 1.116] mg/100g (wet weight);
