Celebes Monkfish, Sladenia remiger Smith & Radcliffe 1912

A Celebes Monkfish, Sladenia remiger, filmed by an ROV off Indonesia, July 2010. Source: NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program, INDEX-SATAL 2010. License: Public Domain

Summary:

A large pale greyish goosefish with a relatively deep body, two dorsal-fin spines on the snout, and a single dorsal-fin spine embedded in a loose fold of skin behind the head.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2023, Sladenia remiger in Fishes of Australia, accessed 23 May 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/4870

Celebes Monkfish, Sladenia remiger Smith & Radcliffe 1912

More Info

Distribution	Off North West Cape to the Exmouth Plateau, Western Australia, and the Coral Sea, Queensland, to the St. Helens seamount area, south of Tasmania. Elsewhere the species occurs the west-central Pacific: off Sulawesi, Indonesia, the Kermadec Ridge off northern New Zealand, and off Hawaii. Inhabits deep-sea rocky areas on seamounts ridges and rises on the continental slope.
Features	Dorsal fin III, 9; Anal fin 7; Pectoral fin 19; Pelvic fin I, 5; Caudal fin 8 (outer 2 rays unbranched); Vertebrae 19. Head short (~27%SL); snout long (~75% HL); head spines well developed, frontal spines greatly enlarged.
Etymology	The specific name is from the Latin remus (= oar) and -iger (= bearing), possibly in reference to the paddle-like pectoral fins of species of the genus Sladenia.
Species Citation	Sladenia remiger Smith & Radcliffe in Radcliffe 1912, Proc. U. S. Natl Mus. 2(1896): 199, Pl. 16 (fig. 1). Type locality: Gulf of Tomini, 0°21'33"N, 121°34'10"E, Sulawesi, Indonesia, Albatross station D.5605, depth 647 fathoms.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2023
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Celebes Monkfish, Sladenia remiger Smith & Radcliffe 1912

References

Caruso, J.H. 1985. The systematics and distribution of the lophiid anglerfishes. III. Intergeneric relationships. Copeia 1985(4): 870-875.

Caruso, J.H. 1999. Order: Lophiiformes. Lophiidae. Anglerfishes (monkfishes). p. 2004-2012. In K.E. Carpenter & V.H. Niem (eds) FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific. Vol. 3. Batoid fishes, chimaeras and bony fishes part 1 (Elopidae to Linophrynidae). FAO, Rome.

Caruso, J.H. & Bullis, H.R. Jr. 1976. A review of the lophiid angler fish genus Sladenia with a description of a new species from the Caribbean Sea. Bulletin of Marine Science 26(1): 59-64.

Chave, E.H. & Mundy, B.C. 1994. Deep-sea benthic fish of the Hawaiian archipelago, Cross Seamount, and Johnson Atoll. Pacific Science 48(4): 367-409.

Ho, H. 2015. 112 Family Lophiidae. pp. 880-881 in Roberts, C.D., Stewart, A.L. & Struthers, C.D. The Fishes of New Zealand. Wellington : Te Papa Press Vol. 3 pp. 577-1152.

Ho, H. 2020. Sladenia remiger. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: e.T135438973A136910158. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T135438973A136910158.en. Accessed on 13 September 2023.

Ni, Y., Wu, H.-L. & Li, S. 2012. A new species of the genus Sladenia (Pisces, Lophiidae) from the East China Sea and the South China Sea. Acta Zootaxonomica Sinica 37(1): 211-216.

Smith, H.M. & Radcliffe, L. in Radcliffe, L. 1912. New pediculate fishes from the Philippine Islands and contiguous waters. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 42(1896): 199-214 pls 16-27. See ref at BHL

Williams, A., Last, P.R., Gomon, M.F. & Paxton, J.R. 1996. Species composition and checklist of the demersal ichthyofauna of the continental slope off Western Australia (20–35º). Records of the Western Australian Museum 18: 135-155 (as Sladenia sp A)