Banded Frogfish, Halophryne diemensis (Lesueur 1824)


Other Names: Australian Frogfish, Banded Toadfish, Bastard Stonefish, Devil-fish, Northern Frogfish, Stonefish, Wirrarook

A Banded Frogfish, Halophryne diemensis, at Cape Leveque, Western Australia. Source: Graham Edgar / Reef Life Survey. License: CC BY Attribution

Summary:
A well-camouflaged mottled frogfish (aka banded toadfish) with irregular darker brown and pale bands and blotches on the body, extending onto the dorsal and anal fins, and skin with numerous tassels on the head and body. Banded Frogfish have the gill opening restricted to the upper third to one-half off the pectoral-fin base.
Video of a Banded Toadfish in the Philippines.

Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2016, Halophryne diemensis in Fishes of Australia, accessed 29 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/2837

Banded Frogfish, Halophryne diemensis (Lesueur 1824)

More Info


Distribution

Shark Bay, Western Australia, Ashmore Reef, Timor Sea, to the southern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland. Elsewhere the species occurs in the tropical east-Indo-west Pacific.
Inhabits coastal reefs and estuaries including mangrove areas, often sheltering in holes and crevices.

Feeding

Ambush predator - feeds on fishes and a range of benthic invertebrates including crabs, prawns, molluscs and echinoderms.

Biology

Banded Frogfish incubate the eggs in the mouth, and the young are guarded by one of the parents after hatching.

Remarks

In general there are no known venomous species amongst the Australian toadfishes. Cameron & Endean (1972) found that Banded Frogfish lack a venom apparatus. However, they have huge clavate cells in their skin which may be the source of the skin secretion that reportedly kills other fishes. Reportedly, stab wounds from the spines can result to severe pain. 

Species Citation

Batrachoides diemensis Lesueur 1824, J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad. 3(2): 402. Type locality: Northern Territory.

Author

Bray, D.J. 2016

Resources

Australian Faunal Directory

Banded Frogfish, Halophryne diemensis (Lesueur 1824)

References


Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 292 pp. 106 pls. 

Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp.

Allen, G.R. & Swainston, R. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A field guide for anglers and divers. Perth, WA : Western Australian Museum vi 201 pp., 70 pls. 

Cameron, A.M. & Endean, R. 1972. Refutation of the venomous reputations of three teleost fishes. Toxicon 10: 335–336.

Coleman, N. 1981. Australian Sea Fishes North of 30°S. Lane Cove, NSW : Doubleday Australia Pty Ltd 297 pp. 

Gloerfelt-Tarp, T. & Kailola, P.J. 1984. Trawled Fishes of Southern Indonesia and Northwest Australia. Jakarta : Dir. Gen. Fish. (Indonesia), German Tech. Coop., Aust. Dev. Ass. Bur. 406 pp.

Grant, E.M. 1975. Guide to Fishes. Brisbane : Queensland Government, Co-ordinator General’s Department 640 pp. 

Grant, E.M. 2002. Guide to Fishes. Redcliffe : EM Grant Pty Ltd 880 pp. 

Greenfield, D.W. 1999. Family Batrachoididae. pp. 1999-2003 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, V.H. (eds) The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 3 pp. 1397-2068. 

Greenfield, D.W., Winterbottom, R. & Collette, B.B. 2008. Review of the toadfish genera (Teleostei: Batrachoididae). Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 4 59(15): 665-710. 

Hutchins, J.B. 1976. A revision of the Australian frogfishes. Records of the Western Australian Museum 4(1): 3-43 figs 1-17 

Hutchins, J.B. 1990. Fish survey of South Passage, Shark Bay, Western Australia. pp. 263-278 in Berry, P.F., Bradshaw, S.D. & Wilson, B.R. (eds) Research in Shark Bay: Report of the France-Australe Bicentenary Expedition Committee. Perth : Western Australian Museum. 


Hutchins, J.B. 2003. Checklist of marine fishes of the Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia. pp. 453-478 in Wells, F.E., Walker, D.I., & Jones, D.S. (eds) Proceedings of the Eleventh International Marine Biological Workshop: The Marine Flora and Fauna of Dampier, Western Australia. Perth : Western Australian Museum. 

Johnson, J.W. 1999. Annotated checklist of the fishes of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 43(2): 709-762 

Klunzinger, C.B. 1879. Die v. Müller'sche Sammlung Australischer Fische. Anzeiger der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Klasse, Wien 16(22): 254-261 

Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. A comprehensive reference for divers and fishermen. Sydney, NSW, Australia : New Holland Publishers xvii, 434 pp. 

Larson, H.K., Williams, R.S. & Hammer, M.P. 2013. An annotated checklist of the fishes of the Northern Territory, Australia. Zootaxa 3696(1): 1-293.

Larson, H.K. & Williams, R.S. 1997. Darwin Harbour fishes: a survey and annotated checklist. pp. 339-380 in Hanley, H.R., Caswell, G., Megirian, D. & Larson, H.K. (eds) The Marine Flora and Fauna of Darwin Harbour, Northern Territory, Australia. Proceedings of the Sixth International Marine Biology Workshop. Darwin : Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory 466 pp. 

Lesueur, C.A. 1824. Description of two new species of the genus Batrachoides of Lacépède. Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 3(2): 295-403 

Ogilby, J.D. 1908. Revision of the Batrachoididae of Queensland. Annals of the Queensland Museum 9(2): 43-57

Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1990. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 507 pp. figs. 

Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 557 pp. figs. 

Richardson, J. 1843. Contributions to the ichthyology of Australia. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 1 11(71): 352-359 

Taylor, W.R. 1964. Fishes of Arnhem Land. Records of the American-Australian Scientific Expedition to Arnhem Land 4: 44-307 figs 1-68 

Whitley, G.P. 1937. Further ichthyological miscellanea. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 11(2): 113-148 figs 11-13 

Whitley, G.P. 1957. A kennel of frogfishes. Australian Museum Magazine 12(5): 139-142

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37205002

Depth:0-106m (usually 1-20m)

Habitat:Reef associated

Max Size:28 cm TL

Species Image Gallery

Species Maps

CAAB distribution map