Warty frogfish
Amazing fact
The warty frogfish can rapidly expand its mouth to swallow prey as large as itself.
Aquarium of the Pacific
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
The warty frogfish can rapidly expand its mouth to swallow prey as large as itself.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Warty frogfish
- Scientific name
- Antennarius maculatus
- Japanese name
- クマドリカエルアンコウ
- Group
- Ocean animals
- Order
- Lophiiformes
- Family
- Antennariidae
- Genus
- Antennarius
A frogfish that lives in the Pacific off southern Japan, around the Ryukyu Islands, and in waters off India and the western Pacific.
Its name comes from its body pattern, which looks like kumadori, the bold makeup worn in kabuki theater.
How the Warty frogfish lives
Its bumpy skin helps it blend into its surroundings. It uses a modified dorsal fin as a lure to attract prey. When moving, it tends to walk on modified fins rather than swim. Its eggs are released in a jelly-like raft.
Aquarium of the PacificBasic data
- Range
- Pacific waters of southern Japan, Ryukyu Islands, India and western Pacific
Where the Warty frogfish has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- クマドリカエルアンコウ
- 简体中文
- 大斑躄鱼
- 繁體中文
- 大斑躄魚
- 한국어
- 무당씬벵이
- Español
- Pez sapo verrugoso
- Français
- Antennaire verruqueux
- Deutsch
- Warzen-Anglerfisch
- Português (Brasil)
- Peixe-sapo-palhaço
- Italiano
- Pesce rana pagliaccio
- Русский
- Бородавчатый удильщик
- ไทย
- ปลากบจุด
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 鳥羽水族館 — クマドリカエルアンコウChecked: 2026-11-04
- Aquarium of the Pacific — Warty FrogfishChecked: 2026-11-07
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
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