[5][4] It can be identified taxonomically through its pectoral rays, the presence of dark patches that appear on its fins and body, along with its lack of distinctive tail base.

David Starr Jordan and Barton W. Evermann synonymised Antennatus coccineus (Antennarius coccineus at the time) with Antennatus drombus (Antennarius drombus at the time) in 1904, however it has since been separated due to the differences in the number of pectoral rays, varying colours of the esca and the abundance of small dark blotches on the body and fins.

Reports of the scarlet frogfish state that this fish has been found in varying colours, specifically pale tan, mottled red and yellow, often with small dark spots on its body.

This includes being stocky and unstreamlined, having a scaleless body, bifurcated spinules, an upward pointing mouth with palatal teeth as well as the lure associated with anglerfish.

Other identifying characteristics include a faint, missing or weakly developed basidorsal mark along with the lack of a distinctive tail base.

Antennatus coccineus is known to do this by resting on the seafloor in the way a sea urchin would or else picking up similar behaviours to the poisonous scorpionfish.

[21] Once attacked by a predator they use their mouths powerful suction to swell their whole body with water, making it difficult for any predatorial animal to swallow it.

Many of the fish in this family, including Abantennarius coccineus, can take water in through the mouth and expel it through gill openings similar to tubes, located behind its pectoral fins.

The extra mass of eggs inside of her causes her body to bloat, becoming larger and more buoyant with the added air space.

[28] The eggs come together to form a floating gelatinous spawn or a raft, where they will then stay in the open ocean water until they hatch.

The offspring or larvae will remain in this open ocean environment, hidden within plankton for the first one to two months of their life before they migrate to live within the reef.

[17] The scarlet frogfish is classified as having high resilience, with its population being able to double in less than one year and 3 months and due to this it is also listed as a non-vulnerable species.

In a study done on the abundance of reef fish in India, only 2 scarlet frogfish species were encountered compared to the 154 lionfish, demonstrating the scarce nature of it in non-native areas.

[8][13] The scarlet frogfish is not harmful to humans, it is not known to bite due to its small size, preference for smaller prey and also its 'play dead' method of predatorial protection.