Shorefishes of the Greater Caribbean online information system

Español  Contact

Species: Chaunax pictus, Pink gaper, Pink frogmouth

All Families:   All Genera:   All Species:

cavity of lure black, strongly concave
lure: front black, rear white/translucent
pectoral 13-14

Chaunax pictus  Lowe, 1846

Pink frogmouth, Pink gaper

Body rounded, slightly compressed, tapering to a small, rounded tail; head large, globular, cuboid;  eyes high on side of head, covered with a clear skin window; mouth large, strongly oblique to ~vertical; teeth small, slender, sharp; gill opening small; dorsal fin in 2 parts: 1st is a single spine  modified as an angling lure in a scaleless, oval depression on snout, lure is a  short stalk with a dense cluster of short threads like a short mop,2nd & 3rd spines not externally visible, snout cavity strongly concave;  soft dorsal on rear of body, 10-12; anal fin 0, 7 (6-7); pectorals behind mid-body, 13-14 (12-15);  skin very loose, flaccid, covered with minute spine-like denticles, those fine and densely packed; single open lateral line from base of tail fin to head, there  with prominent canals, & connections to branches under eye, to chin along lower side of body to over pectorals, main part on upper body with  29-42 pores, continues with 11 (10-13) on head.

Head & body rosy red to orange red, back may have yellow spots, belly and fins darker red; snout cavity for lure dark brown or black; lure with pale orange stalk & thread cluster blue-black at front, white behind.  

Reaches 40 cm

On soft and hard bottoms

Depth range  200-1183 m

Atlantic and Indo-west Pacific;  New York to the Amazon


High Resolution Map Download

Species Data Create Report Export as Word File Export as Excel File
Salinity
  • Marine
  • Marine Only
Inshore/Offshore
  • Offshore Only
  • Offshore
Water Column Position
  • Bottom only
  • Bottom
Habitat
  • Mud
  • Reef and soft bottom
  • Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
  • Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
FishBase Habitat
  • Reef Associated
Feeding Group
  • Carnivore
  • Data
Diet
  • Data
  • Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
Egg Type
  • Data
  • Pelagic
  • Pelagic larva
Global Endemism
  • Greater Caribbean non-endemic
  • All species.
  • Transatlantic (East+West Atlantic)
  • Circumtropical ( Indian + Pacific + Atlantic Oceans)
Regional Endemism
  • Extends N + S of GC
  • Extends North of GC
  • GC non-endemic
  • Extends South of GC
  • Continent
  • Continent + Island (s)
  • All species..
  • Insular primarily
Residency
  • Resident
Climate Zone
  • Temperate (>35N)
  • Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
  • Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
  • Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
IUCN Red List
  • Listed
  • Least concern
CITES
  • Not listed
Length Max
  • 40
Depth Range Min
  • 200
Depth Range Max
  • 1183