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How does it look like?
It is a fish with a dorsoventrally flattened body. It has a very wide horizontal mouth with a prominent lower jaw, protractile and with two rows of strong and conical teeth. The dorsal fin has a spiny part and a soft part opposite the anal fin. The pectoral fins are large. The maximal body size can reach a length between 150 to 200 centimeters. It has a varied coloration from a dark color with red tones to a grayish-green color.
Where does it live?
This species is usually found in muddy bottoms at a depth between 30-150 meters, although it can reach up to 500m. It lives in rocky bottoms with lots of vegetation, burying itself in the sand to go unnoticed and catch possible prey.
How does it feed?
The angler fish is a carnivorous species. It camouflages itself in the sand or among the algae and by means of a lobe on its dorsal part, it attracts its prey to its mouth. When they are close enough, it jumps on them and swallows them as a whole. It feeds on other fishes, crustaceans, etc. The morphology of its mouth is characterized by teeth directed backwards to ensure that the prey does not escape.
How does it reproduce?
The male is smaller than the female. Sexual maturity occurs at six years of age. The male attaches himself to the female with his mouth and fertilization takes place, after which the eggs are released. It is a very particular laying, since it is wrapped in a gelatinous mass surrounded by a purplish ribbon of up to 1 meter wide and 10m long that ends up breaking and releasing the eggs.
Is a confusion possible?
Confusion is possible only with Lophius budegassa, differing in the number of rays of the dorsal fin and color. The habitat sometimes can help also, as L.piscatorius is considered to prefer rocky borroms ans L.budegassa sandy ones.
Curiosities
- In English the fish of this family are known as "angler fish". The name is due to the dorsal lobe that these fish use, as if it were a fishing rod, to lure their prey into their mouths.
- The monkfish is highly valued at a culinary level because its meat is very tasty.
Taxonomy
Phylum: Chordata, Subphylum: Vertebrata, Class: Osteichthyes, Order: Lophiiformes, Family: Lophiidae, Genus: Lophius |
