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Prickly Anglerfish

Prickly Anglerfish

Echinophryne Crassispina

Quick Facts

Scientific nameEchinophryne Crassispina

Other namesThick-spined Anglerfish, Prickly Frogfish

FamilyAnglerfish / Antennaridae

Distribution

Habitat & AU DistributionShallow rocky reefs, rocks, ledges & jetties

The Prickly Anglerfish is a tiny, round-bodied fish that grows to just 7 cm long, roughly the length of a large grape. What it lacks in size it makes up for in disguise.
It is found only in Australia, making it one of the country’s many marine species that exist nowhere else on Earth. Its range runs from Jervis Bay in New South Wales, around Tasmania, through Victoria, and into South Australia as far as the Eyre Peninsula.
Prickly Anglerfish live on rocky reefs in shallow coastal water, usually at depths down to about 20 m. They spend most of their time tucked under rocks, ledges and jetty structures, which is why most people never see one.
The body is densely covered in tiny divided spines, giving the fish a rough, bristly texture. These spines likely help it blend into the surrounding reef, and even the fins are covered in them.
Its colouring is highly variable. One individual may be reddish-brown, another yellowish, and another pinkish, with pale and darker patches scattered across the face and body.
Like other anglerfish, the Prickly Anglerfish has a modified first dorsal spine that acts as a built-in fishing rod. In this species, the rod is short and does not carry a distinct lure at the tip.
Anglerfish are known for sitting very still and waiting for prey to come within reach, rather than chasing it down. When something edible comes close enough, they can strike with remarkable speed.
The eyes are ringed with a close set of tiny spines, giving the face an almost armoured look. It is one of the more distinctive anglerfish a diver is likely to come across.
Because they hide under rocks and blend so well with the reef, Prickly Anglerfish are rarely spotted in the wild. Divers who do find one usually describe it as looking more like a lump of encrusted rock than a fish.
Specific information on their diet, lifespan and breeding is limited. Like other anglerfish, they are thought to be ambush predators that feed on small fish and other animals that venture too close.

Species Interaction

Prickly Anglerfish: A Hidden Resident, Rarely Encountered

Research & Rare Encounters
Ecosystem Role

The Prickly Anglerfish is an obscure, bottom-dwelling species endemic to temperate southern Australia, living under rocks and ledges on shallow inshore reefs down to about 20 m. Its cryptic habits mean snorkellers and divers rarely come across one. The species appears in the scientific record as an incidental bycatch category in Commonwealth fishery assessments, where its capture rate is effectively zero, making research sightings and museum specimens the primary way people encounter it at all.

Species
Sustainability

Scientific Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Teleostei
Order: Lophiiformes
Family: Histiophrynidae
Genus: Echinophryne
Species: Echinophryne crassispina

Conservation Status

The Prickly Anglerfish has not been assessed by the IUCN Red List, and it carries no listing under Australia’s EPBC Act. It is a small, cryptic species endemic to southern Australian waters, and no formal conservation or stock status has been established for it.