angler
Lophius piscatorius Linnaeus, 1758
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.
A monkfish (Lophius piscatorius) photographed off the coast of northern Ireland.
Libby Keatley · CC BY 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 320 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Lophius piscatorius, commonly known as the angler, toadfish, sea frog, fishing frog, frogfish, or sea devil, is a species of Lophius in the family Lophiidae. It occurs in coastal and shelf waters of the northeast Atlantic, ranging from the Barents Sea south to the Strait of Gibraltar, and is also present in the Mediterranean and Black Sea. In parts of its range, including the Irish Sea, it supports an important commercial fishery.
Wikipedia contributors, Lophius piscatorius; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:24:13.820666+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Lophius piscatorius Linnaeus, 1758
- Name authority
- Linnaeus, 1758
- Common name
- angler
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Lophiiformes
- Family
- Lophiidae
- Genus
- Lophius
- 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderLophiiformes
- suborderLophioidei
- familyLophiidae Rafinesque, 1810
- genusLophius Linnaeus, 1758
- speciesLophius piscatorius Linnaeus, 1758
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Lophius. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| American anglerLophius americanus Valenciennes, 1837 | LophiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| blackfin goosefishLophius gastrophysus Miranda Ribeiro, 1915 | LophiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| yellow goosefishLophius litulon (Jordan, 1902) | LophiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lophius vaillanti Regan, 1903 | LophiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| devil anglerfishLophius vomerinus Valenciennes, 1837 | LophiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lophius onokensis Schwarzhans, 2019 | LophiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extinct |
| black-bellied anglerLophius budegassa Spinola, 1807 | LophiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Batrachus eurypterus (Düben, 1845) (Düben, 1845) | synonym |
| Batrachus piscator (Linnaeus, 1758) (Linnaeus, 1758) | synonym |
| Lophius eurypterus Düben, 1845 Düben, 1845 | synonym |
| Batrachus piscatorius (Linnaeus, 1758) (Linnaeus, 1758) | 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.
- Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. Laurentii Salvii. Holmiae [Stockholm]. [iii] + 824 pp. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.542 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:3W2MQ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.