Sargassumfish (Histrio histrio)

Scientific name: Histrio histrio Linnaeus, 1758

The Sargassumfish (Histrio histrio) is a marine fish of the family Antennariidae.

Biology

Dorsal spines (total): 3; Dorsal soft rays (total): 11-13; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 7 - 13. Color mottled green with numerous fleshy weed-like dermal appendages blending with the floating Sargassum weed in which it is usually found. Illicium much shorter than 2nd dorsal spine. Esca globular with short filaments. Skin smooth, without dermal spinules; pectoral stalk free from body for most of its length.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name: Histrio histrio
Family: Antennariidae (Frogfishes)
Order: Lophiiformes (Anglerfishes)
Class: Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length: 20.0
Depth range: 0–50 m (0–164 ft)
Environment: Marine; reef-associated; oceanodromous; depth range 0 - 50 m, usually 0 - 2 m
Climate: Subtropical
Distribution: Indian Ocean: tip of South Africa eastward to Indian and Sri Lanka, including the Red Sea, Madagascar, R?union 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. Occurrence in the eastern Pacific remains problematic. Northwest Atlantic: Canada. Western Atlantic: Gulf of Maine to the mouth of the Rio de la Plata, Uruguay. Eastern Atlantic: Azores and off West Africa; record from Vard?, northern Norway (D?ben & Koren 1846) is based on a straggler taken northward by the North Atlantic and Norwegian currents.
Conservation status (IUCN): Not Evaluated
Threat to humans: Reports of ciguatera poisoning
Uses: Fisheries: subsistence fisheries; aquarium: commercial
Resilience: High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Fec assumed to be > 10,000)