Antennatus coccineus, the scarlet or freckled frogfish, is a species of frogfish originally classified as Chironectes coccineus and Antennarius coccineus. It lives within tropical waters and has a central distribution being around Indo-East-Pacific areas- excluding Hawaii. The habitat of the scarlet frogfish is in the shallow zones of the ocean. It is found within reef areas, in rocky mounds or sponges where there are places for it to hide amongst from predators. The scarlet frogfish comes in a variety of colours, from tan and brown colours to bright reds and yellows and will grow to a maximum length of . It can be identified taxonomically through its pectoral rays, the presence of dark patches that appear on its fins and body, along with its lack of distinctive tail base. The scarlet frogfish is not harmful to humans and is not caught by fisheries for consumption purposes, however it has been caught previously for studies relating to the abundance of reef-dwelling fish and as bycatch of shrimp trawling. Similar to other frogfish species, the scarlet frogfish is a predatory carnivore and exhibits a low degree of sociality, only interacting with other scarlet frogfish during their mating period.
Taxonomy
Antennatus coccineus was originally classified as Chironectes coccineus by René Primevère Lesson in 1831. Lesson then went on to reclassify it as Antennarius coccineus in the same year. David Starr Jordan and Barton W. Evermann synonymised Antennatus coccineus (Antennarius coccineus at the time) with Antennatus drombus (Antennarius drombus at the time) in 1904, however it has since been separated due to the differences in the number of pectoral rays, varying colours of the esca and the abundance of small dark blotches on the body and fins. Antennarius coccineus was incorrectly named Antennarius nexilis by John Otterbein Snyder in 1904, followed by Antennarius stigmaticus by James Douglas Ogilby in 1912, and then Antennarius leucus by Henry W. Fowler in 1934. This was then followed by Abantennarius neocaledoniensis by Édouard Le Danois in 1964, Antennarius moai by Gerald R. Allen in 1970 and finally incorrectly named Antennarius immaculatus by Le Danoi in 1970. Whilst it has been the topic of numerous name changes since then, Antennarius coccineus was the most common name used up until 2012 when a combination of DNA profiling and Genetic analysis came out with the fish being incorrectly identified as being within the Antennarius genus and it was identified as being in the Antennatus genus. It has since remained named Antennatus coccineus from 2012 onwards.
Etymology
The scientific name of the scarlet frogfish originates from 2 Latin words. 'Antennatus' comes from the scientific family (biology) Antennariidae, the genus of angler fish that have a compressed frog-like body. 'Antennatus' has the Latin translation of 'antennae on the head'. The word 'coccineus' means scarlet or red, depicting the colour of the fish. Together these words form the name of the scarlet anglerfish – Antennatus coccineus.
Description
The scarlet frogfish has large variety regarding its documented physical appearance. Reports of the scarlet frogfish state that this fish has been found in varying colours, specifically pale tan, mottled red and yellow, often with small dark spots on its body. It grows to a maximum of as a fully developed adult but can also be found at much smaller sizes. Size is not reported as being influenced by sex. Antennatus coccineus has many characteristics common with the Antennariidae family. This includes being stocky and unstreamlined, having a scaleless body, bifurcated spinules, an upward pointing mouth with palatal teeth as well as the lure associated with anglerfish. Defining characteristics of Antennatus coccineus include the last pelvic fin ray being split in two, its second dorsal fin being curved and having an illicium that is much smaller than the standard frogfish illicium length, previously recorded as being only 8.8% the normal length. Another unique trait is the growth on the top of its head that acts as a lure of which has a large variety, ranging from an unpigmented tissue lump to a long protuberance coming out of its head. Other identifying characteristics include a faint, missing or weakly developed basidorsal mark along with the lack of a distinctive tail base. Like other members of the Antennarius group, Antennatus coccineus has its second dorsal fin being unattached via tissue to the head, however, unlike other Lophiiforme fish, it is missing the dark patch on the back of the dorsal fin, identifying it as its own separate species. The scarlet frogfish is also missing numerous spines along its back.