Anatomy: gills open behind the pectoral fins (as opposed to behind the gill opening); depressible teeth can hinge back; in most species, a wide mouth extends all around the anterior circumference of the head, and bands of inwardly inclined teeth line both jaws; a modified dorsal fin ray acts as a lure to draw in prey; males are often several orders of magnitude smaller in mass than females
Diet: crustaceans, fish, worms
Habitat: marine and brackish habitats worldwide; the majority are demersal bottom-dwellers while some are pelagic; some live in the deep sea while others live in shallower waters
Evolved in: Eocene, possible Late Cretaceous
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The lure (esca) of anglerfish varies between species. In the deep-sea anglerfish (suborder Ceratioidei) (see gif above) the esca contain bioluminescent bacteria, making them glow in the dark waters of the deeper pelagic zones. In other species the esca possesses different luring mechanisms, such as emitting odoriferous chemicals that attract olfactory-driven prey. In some, the lure simply resembles prey attractive to small fish, such as shrimp or worms. If it is lost, the esca can be regenerated.
The Triplewart Seadevil (Cryptopsaras couesii) can move its lure back and forth with five distinct pairs of muscles.
In Europe and North America, the tail meat of fish of the genus Lophius, known as Monkfish or Goosefish (image 2), is widely used in cooking, and is often compared to lobster tail in taste and texture.
Frogfishes (family Antennariidae) (image 3) are masters of camouflage: many species can change colour and some are even covered with other organisms, such as algae or hydrozoa. They typically move along very slowly, walking on their pectoral and pelvic fins, lying in wait for prey, and then striking extremely rapidly, in as little as 6 milliseconds.
Deep-sea anglerfish (suborder Ceratioidei) employ an unusual mating method. When scientists first started capturing ceratioid anglerfish, they noticed that all of the specimens were female, and on some of these they had what appeared to be parasites attached to them. These turned out to be the highly dimorphic male ceratioids. This is one of the few instances of naturally occurring parabiosis. Because individuals are rare, encounters between two of the same species are very rare, let alone two members of the opposite sex, so finding a mate can be difficult. This has led to the development of sexual parasitism in deep-sea anglerfish, where the males latch onto their mates, using their mouths which may only be suited for this purpose. In some species of anglerfish, fusion between males and female is possible due to the lack of immune system keys that allow antibodies to mature and create receptors for T-cells.
While often depicted in close-up photos with very little surroundings for size reference; most anglerfish are on the small side, around 2–18 cm (1–7 in) long. However, some species do live up to the hype. The largest is the monkfish commonly known simply as the Anglerfish (Lophius piscatorius), reaching on average 40–60 centimetres (1.3–2 ft), with larger specimens growing up to 200 cm (6.6 ft) long! The largest deep sea anglerfish is the Krøyer's Deep Sea Angler Fish (Ceratias holboelli), which can reach 120 cm (3.9 ft) long, though most females only get up to 77 cm (2.5 ft) long.
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