Antennarioidei

Antennarioidei is a suborder of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Lophiiformes, the anglerfishes.

Antennarioidei Temporal range: Early Eocene to present PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Painted frogfish (Antennarius pictus), the type species of the genus Antennarius.
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Lophiiformes
Suborder:	Antennarioidei Regan, 1912[1]
Families
see text

Taxonomy

Antennarioidei was first proposed as a taxonomic grouping in 1912 by the English ichthyologist Charles Tate Regan.^[1] The 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies this taxon as one of the five suborders in the order Lophiiformes. It and the suborders Chaunacoidei, Ogcocephaloidei, and Ceratioidei, are more derived than their basal sister group the Lophioidei.^[2] In some phylogenies the suborder Antennarioidei is the most basal of the Lophiiformes suborders other than Lophioidei.^[3]

The relationships of the suborders within Lophiiformes as set out in Pietsch and Grobecker's 1987 Frogfishes of the world: systematics, zoogeography, and behavioral ecology is shown below.^[3]

Lophiiformes	Lophioidei Antennarioidei Chaunacoidei Ogcocephaloidei Ceratioidei

Red-lipped batfish

Striped anglerfish (Antennarius striatus)

Etymology

Antennarioidei is derived from Antennarius, the type genus of the family Antennaridae. Antennarius suffixes -ius to antenna, an allusion to first dorsal spine being adapted into a tentacle on the snout used as a lure to attract prey.^[4]

Families

The following classification is recognized by Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes:^[5]

• Suborder Antennarioidei
  • Family Rhycheridae Hart, Arnold, Alda, Kenaley, Pietsch, Hutchinson & Chakrabarty, 2022 (Balrog frogfishes)
  • Family Brachionichthyidae Gill, 1863 (handfishes)
  • Family Antennariidae Jarocki 1822 (Fibonacci frogfishes)
  • Family Histiophrynidae Arnold & Pietsch 2012 (starfingered frogfishes)
  • Family Tathicarpidae Hart, Arnold, Alda, Kenaley, Pietsch, Hutchinson & Chakrabarty 2022 (longfin frogfishes)
  • Family Tetrabrachiidae Regan 1912 (tetrabrachiid frogfishes)
  • Family Lophichthyidae Boeseman 1964 (lophichthyid frogfishes)

The cladogram below shows a past classification, prior to the recognition of several new families:^[2][6][3]

Antennarioidei	Brachionichthyidae Gill, 1863 (Handfishes or warty anglerfishes) Lophichthyidae Boeseman, 1964 (Lophichthyid frogfishes) Tetrabrachiidae Regan, 1912 (Tetrabrachid frogfishes) Antennariidae Jarocki 1822 (Frogfishes)

Characteristics

Antennarioidei fishes are characterised by the first dorsal fin being made up of three separate spines on the head, the first being the illicium with the second sometimes being short, although this spine is not everr embedded within the skin. The pterygiophores of the first dorsal spine and the third dorsal spine have highly compressed dorsal expansions. The interhyal has a central backwards directed process that touches the preoperculum.^[2]

Distribution

Antennarioidei fishes are found in the tropical and subtropical oceans of the world, although this applies only to the Antennaridae, the other three families being confined to the seas around Indonesia, New Guinea and Australia.^[2]