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Sargassumfish

Histrio histrio (Linnaeus, 1758)

Source-backed taxonomic record

Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.

Sargassumfish (Histrio histrio) in an aquarium.

Sargassumfish (Histrio histrio) in an aquarium.

Art Howard/Ross et al, NOAA-OE, HBOI · Public domain · Image source

Provider-generated thumbnail requested at 320 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.

Open encyclopedia reference

The sargassum fish, anglerfish, or frog fish (Histrio histrio) is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Antennariidae, the frogfishes, the only species in the genus Histrio. It lives among Sargassum seaweed which floats in subtropical oceans. The scientific name comes from the Latin histrio meaning a stage player or actor and refers to the fish's feeding behaviour.

Wikipedia contributors, Sargassum fish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:44:06.171031+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name
Histrio histrio (Linnaeus, 1758)
Name authority
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Common name
Sargassumfish
Rank
species
Accepted status
accepted
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Teleostei
Order
Lophiiformes
Family
Antennariidae
Genus
Histrio
Extinction status
Not supplied by this source

Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

  1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
  2. kingdomAnimalia
  3. phylumChordata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. infraphylumGnathostomata
  6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
  7. gigaclassActinopterygii
  8. superclassActinopteri
  9. classTeleostei
  10. orderLophiiformes
  11. suborderAntennarioidei
  12. familyAntennariidae Jarocki, 1822
  13. genusHistrio Fischer, 1813
  14. speciesHistrio histrio (Linnaeus, 1758)

Close classified relatives

No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.

Browse 25 records assigned to Antennariidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Recorded nameSource status
Histrio jagua Nichols, 1920 Nichols, 1920synonym
Histrio pictus (Valenciennes, 1837) (Valenciennes, 1837)synonym
Histrio raninus (Tilesius, 1809) (Tilesius, 1809)synonym
Lophius gibbus Mitchill, 1815 Mitchill, 1815synonym
Lophius raninus Tilesius, 1809 Tilesius, 1809synonym
Lophius tumida Osbeck, 1765 Osbeck, 1765synonym
Peterophryne gibbo (Mitchill, 1815) (Mitchill, 1815)synonym
Pterophryne laevigatus (Cuvier, 1817) (Cuvier, 1817)synonym
Pterophryne variegatus (Rafinesque, 1814) (Rafinesque, 1814)synonym
Antennarius histrio (Linnaeus, 1758) (Linnaeus, 1758)synonym
Antennarius nitidus Bennett, 1827 Bennett, 1827synonym
Chironectes arcticus Düben & Koren, 1846 Düben & Koren, 1846synonym
Chironectes tumidus (Osbeck, 1765) (Osbeck, 1765)synonym
Cheironectes laevigatus Cuvier, 1817 Cuvier, 1817synonym
Chironectes barbatulatus Eydoux & Souleyet, 1850 Eydoux & Souleyet, 1850synonym
Chironectes sonntagii Müller, 1864 Müller, 1864synonym
Chironectes nesogallicus Valenciennes, 1837 Valenciennes, 1837synonym
Antennarius inops Poey, 1881 Poey, 1881synonym
Antennarius raninus (Tilesius, 1809) (Tilesius, 1809)synonym
Chironectes histrio (Linnaeus, 1758) (Linnaeus, 1758)synonym
Chironectes pictus Valenciennes, 1837 Valenciennes, 1837synonym
Pterophryne ranina (Tilesius, 1809) (Tilesius, 1809)synonym
Cheironectes pictus vittatus Richardson, 1844 Richardson, 1844synonym
Historio gibbus (Mitchill, 1815) (Mitchill, 1815)synonym
Histrio gibbus (Mitchill, 1815) (Mitchill, 1815)synonym
Lophius calico Mitchill, 1818 Mitchill, 1818synonym
Lophius cocinsinensis Shaw, 1812 Shaw, 1812synonym
Lophius geographicus Quoy & Gaimard, 1825 Quoy & Gaimard, 1825synonym
Lophius gibba Mitchill, 1815 Mitchill, 1815synonym
Lophius histrio Linnaeus, 1758 Linnaeus, 1758synonym
Lophius laevis Latreille, 1804 Latreille, 1804synonym
Lophius pelagicus Banks, 1962 Banks, 1962synonym
Lophius tumidus Osbeck, 1765 Osbeck, 1765synonym
Pterophryne gibba (Mitchill, 1815) (Mitchill, 1815)synonym
Pterophryne historio (Linnaeus, 1758) (Linnaeus, 1758)synonym
Pterophryne laevigata (Cuvier, 1817) (Cuvier, 1817)synonym
Pterophryne picta (Valenciennes, 1837) (Valenciennes, 1837)synonym
Pterophryne tumida (Osbeck, 1765) (Osbeck, 1765)synonym
Pterophrynoides gibbus (Mitchill, 1815) (Mitchill, 1815)synonym
Pterophrynoides histrio (Linnaeus, 1758) (Linnaeus, 1758)synonym
Lophius histrio marmoratus Bloch & Schneider, 1801 Bloch & Schneider, 1801synonym
Antennarius gibbus (Mitchill, 1815) (Mitchill, 1815)synonym
Cheironectes raninus (Tilesius, 1809) (Tilesius, 1809)synonym
Chironectes laevigatus Cuvier, 1817 Cuvier, 1817synonym
Chironectes sontagii Müller, 1864 Müller, 1864synonym
Chironectes variegatus Rafinesque, 1814 Rafinesque, 1814synonym
Antennarius laevigatus (Cuvier, 1817) (Cuvier, 1817)synonym
Antennarius nesogallicus (Valenciennes, 1837) (Valenciennes, 1837)synonym
Antenarius mesogallicus (Valenciennes, 1837) (Valenciennes, 1837)synonym
Antennarius barbatulus (Eydoux & Souleyet, 1850) (Eydoux & Souleyet, 1850)synonym
Antennarius lioderma Bleeker, 1864 Bleeker, 1864synonym
Chironectes gibbus (Mitchill, 1815) (Mitchill, 1815)synonym
Chironectes barbatulus Eydoux & Souleyet, 1850 Eydoux & Souleyet, 1850synonym
Lophius laevigatus (Cuvier, 1817) (Cuvier, 1817)synonym
Pterophryne histrio (Linnaeus, 1758) (Linnaeus, 1758)synonym
Cheironectes pictus synonym

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

  1. https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=126533 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:3M5L8. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.