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Histrio histrio  (Linnaeus, 1758)

Sargassumfish
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Histrio histrio   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Histrio histrio (Sargassumfish)
Histrio histrio
Picture by Cook, D.C.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Lophiiformes (Anglerfishes) > Antennariidae (Frogfishes) > Antennariinae
Etymology: Histrio: Latin, histrionicus = related with actors; because of the movements of that mekaes this fish before catching its preys (Ref. 45335).

Environment / Climate / Range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 50 m (Ref. 58302), usually 0 - 2 m (Ref. 58302).   Subtropical, preferred ?; 43°N - 24°S

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Indian Ocean: tip of South Africa eastward to Indian and Sri Lanka, including the Red Sea, Madagascar, Réunion and Mauritius. Western Pacific: Hokkaido to tropical Australia (as far south as Perth in the west and Sydney in the east), including Taiwan, Philippines, Moluccas, southern Papua New Guinea, Guam, Tonga, New Caledonia and New Zealand; Mariana Islands in Micronesia (Ref. 1602). Occurrence in the eastern Pacific remains problematic. Northwest Atlantic: Canada (Ref. 5951). Western Atlantic: Gulf of Maine to the mouth of the Rio de la Plata, Uruguay. Eastern Atlantic: Azores and off West Africa; record from Vardø, northern Norway (Düben & Koren 1846) is based on a straggler taken northward by the North Atlantic and Norwegian currents.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 20.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7251)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 3; Dorsal soft rays (total): 11-13; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 6 - 13. Diagnosis: body short and globose; mouth large with many small, villiform teeth; skin naked, but head, body and fins covered with numerous skin flaps; very long pelvic fins (> 25% SL); unprotected illicium or lure attains less than half of second dorsal-fin spine and 4.5-9.3% of SL (Ref. 57225).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Found near the surface, usually associated with floating objects (Ref. 26340) or Sargassum. Found near shore and occasionally among floating seaweeds (Ref. 57225). Commonly blown into shore and bay waters during storms (Ref. 7251). Epipelagic (Ref. 58302). A solitary (Ref. 26340) and voracious predator (Ref. 5521). They feed on fishes and shrimps that seek refuge in the floating weeds (Ref. 48635). Oviparous. Eggs are bound in ribbon-like sheath or mass of gelatinous mucus called 'egg raft' or 'veil' (Ref. 6773, 48635). Solitary or loose groups among floating seaweed (Ref 90102).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Oviparous. During courtship, the male follows the female closely then both rush to the surface to spawn (Ref. 205). At this point, eggs are produced in a gelatinous floating mass or 'raft' and inseminated by the male. The eggs remain embedded in this raft until hatching (Ref. 240).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Pietsch, T.W. and D.B. Grobecker, 1987. Frogfishes of the world. Systematics, zoogeography, and behavioral ecology. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California. 420 p. (Ref. 6773)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

CITES (Ref. 94142)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 30911)




Human uses

Fisheries: subsistence fisheries; aquarium: commercial
FAO(Publication : search) | FisheriesWiki | Sea Around Us

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Internet sources

BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | DiscoverLife | DORIS | ECOTOX | Faunafri | Fishes of Iran | Fishtrace | GenBank(genome, nucleotide) | GloBI | GOBASE | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Scirus | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates of some properties based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805):  PD50 = 1.0000   [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):  3.9   ±0.63 se; Based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 69278):  High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Fec assumed to be > 10,000).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low vulnerability (10 of 100) .
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.