Find a Fish
Tasselled Anglerfish
Rhycherus filamentosus (Castelnau, 1872)
Above and below: A Tasselled Anglerfish swimming close to the bottom, at a depth of 4.5 m, Rye Pier, South Australia, January 2005. Photo © N. Craik. View larger image.
This photo shows the fish in the top images at rest on the seabed. Photo © N. Craik. View larger image.
The Tasselled Anglerfish is covered with fleshy tentacles. It has a dorsal fin comprising four parts. The first is a long illicium with an esca that resembles two worms. The second and third dorsal spines are separate. These are followed by 12 to 13 rays.
This species is brown to red above. There are dark blotches or bars on the sides separated by whitish areas extending up from below.
The Tasselled Anglerfish grows to 23 cm in length.
It is endemic to Australia, living on kelp covered rocky reefs from Bass Strait to South Australia. View image of a Tasselled Anglerfish washed up on a beach in Spencer Gulf, South Australia.
Females lay about 5 000 eggs in a large mass. Each egg has a long double filament that sticks to growth on the surrounding rocks.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
Related links
- Sargassum Anglerfish fact sheet
- View the Anglerfishes list
Further reading
- Pietsch, T.W. in Gomon, M.F., Glover, C.J.M. & R.H. Kuiter (Eds). 1994. The Fishes of Australia's South Coast. State Print, Adelaide. Pp. 992.
- Pietsch, T.W. & D.B. Grobecker. 1987. Frogfishes of the World. Systematics, Zoogeography, and Behavioural Ecology. Stanford University Press. Pp. 420.
- Hutchins, B. & R. Swainston. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Swainston Publishing. Pp. 180.
- Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
- Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Gary Allen. Pp. 437.
