Night angler. The monkfish is an interesting anglerfish. Here are some interesting facts about angler fish
I will tell you today about one terrible, but charming inhabitant of the deep sea - deep sea anglerfish . At the mention of this creature, a frame from the cartoon about the fish Nemo immediately comes to mind.
This picture is not far from the truth :)
deep sea anglers or ceratioidei (lat. Ceratioidei) - a suborder of deep-sea fish from the anglerfish order, whose representatives live at great depths of the oceans.
Deep-sea anglerfish constantly live at a depth of about 1500 - 3000 m. They are characterized by a spherical, laterally flattened theme and the presence of a "fishing rod" in females. Their bare skin is black or dark brown; in some species, the skin may be covered with transformed scales - spines and plaques.
Traditionally, deep-sea fish are thought to have bloated bodies with bulging eyes and ugly shapes, but this is not the case. Deep-sea fish take on the appearance of swollen bodies when they are raised to the surface in fishing nets due to excess internal pressure, which at depths of 1500-3000 meters is 150-300 atmospheres.
Anglerfish are distinguished by pronounced sexual dimorphism. Females are much larger than males and are predators. They have a large mouth, powerful teeth, and a highly extensible stomach. First beam dorsal fin females turned into a "fishing rod" (illicium) with a luminous "bait" (escoy) at the end. But the most pronounced sexual dimorphism is manifested in size. The length of females varies from 5 cm to 1 m, the length of males - from 16 mm to 4 cm.
Illicium in females various kinds varies in shape and size and is provided with various skin appendages. In some species, the illicium is able to extend and retract into a special canal on its back. While luring the prey, the anglerfish gradually moves the luminous bait to the mouth until it swallows its prey.
glowing organ is a mucus-filled gland containing bioluminescent bacteria. Thanks to the expansion of the walls of the arteries that supply the gland with blood, the fish can arbitrarily cause the glow of bacteria that need oxygen to do this, or stop it by constricting the vessels. Usually the glow occurs in the form of a series of successive flashes, individual for each species. The benthic galateatum, which lives at a depth of about 3600 m, has a luminous bait in its mouth. Unlike other deep-sea anglers, she apparently hunts lying on the bottom.
Adult female anglerfish feed on deep sea fish, crustaceans and rarely cephalopods; males - copepods and chaetognaths. The stomach of females is able to stretch very strongly, due to which they can swallow prey, often exceeding them in size. The voracity of anglers sometimes leads to their own death. They found dead anglers with swallowed fish, exceeding them in size by more than 2 times. Having captured such big booty, the angler cannot release it because of the peculiar structure of the teeth and chokes.
Everyone Good night and good dreams! :)
Original taken from
These live unusual fish at a depth of 3000 meters.
Their skin is black (dark brown individuals are found).
The spherical shape of the body reaches a length of one meter (sometimes larger individuals are also found), weight - from 5 to 8 kg, a huge mouth with terrifying teeth ... the gloomy look of terrible eyes ... such are the females ...
And what are the males of deep-sea anglerfish?
The length of the male is about 4 cm. I specify - a large male :) Usually their length is from 16 mm, and their weight is from 14 mg.
Despite the fact that adult anglers live at depths where there are no seasonal changes, all species breed in spring or summer time. Spawning takes place at depth.
Females spawn millions of small (no more than 0.5-0.7 mm in diameter) eggs, which gradually rise up. Larvae 2-3 mm long hatch in the near-surface layer of 30-200 m.
By the beginning of metamorphosis, juveniles have time to descend to a depth of more than 1000 m. In the layer of 1500-2000 m, anglerfish already live, having passed metamorphosis and reached maturity. These vertical migrations are of adaptive importance, since only in the near-surface layer are inactive and numerous larvae able to find enough food to accumulate supplies for the upcoming metamorphosis. 
Deep-sea anglerfish larvae are found only in tropical and temperate warm zones World Ocean, lying between 40 ° N. sh. and 35°S sh. and limited by summer isotherms of 20 °C in surface waters. In higher latitudes, including subarctic and subantarctic waters, only adults are found, which get there due to their removal by currents.
The angler fish got its name from the “fishing rod with a luminous bait” located on its head. This is a process formed (only in females!) from the 1st ray of the dorsal fin of the fish. Each type of angler is different.
For example, in Ceratias holboelli, the process extends and retracts. This predator throws its bait away and with small jerks lures the future dinner right into its mouth. And there the fish remains to open it more and slam it in time.
At the tip of this process is a small pouch that glows in the dark. It is filled with slime with bioluminescent bacteria. By regulating the flow of blood with oxygen to the sac, the fish controls the brightness of the "bulb". In some species, it is located directly in the mouth. This eliminates the need to "catch a fish with a bait." The prey itself swims into the mouth of the predator.
Anglers are very voracious. Their stomachs can stretch to colossal sizes. Any female can swallow a prey that is several times her size.
To swallow, she will swallow the victim, but it’s not in vain that they say that gluttony will not lead to good, because as a result of her greed, the glutton will certainly die herself, because she cannot release the victim (teeth do not allow), but she is unable to digest ...
Traditionally, it is considered that appearance deep-sea fish is a swollen spherical body, obligatory bulging eyes. 
This is not entirely correct. The fact is that the bodies of deep-sea fish become swollen only when they rise to the surface of the water. This happens due to the excess internal pressure, which is 150-300 atmospheres at a depth of 1500-3000 m.
Watch the video "Anglers" here:
It has an extremely unattractive appearance. According to one version, that is why it was named that way. It lives on the bottom, hiding in the sand or between stones. Feeds on fish and various crustaceans, which it catches using the dorsal fin as a fishing rod with a bait dangling in front of the mouth itself.
Description
Monkfish belongs to the anglerfish order, the ray-finned family. It is also known as the European anglerfish. It grows up to 1.5 - 2 m in size, can weigh up to 20 kg or more. In catches, it is usually found up to 1 m long and weighing up to 10 kg. The body is flattened, disproportionate, the head occupies up to two thirds of its length. The color of the upper part is spotty, brown with a greenish or reddish tint. The belly is white.
The mouth is wide, with sharp, inwardly curved large teeth. The skin is bare, without scales. The eyes are small, sight and smell are poorly developed. The angler fish has leathery folds around its mouth that constantly move like algae, which allows it to hide and camouflage in the benthic vegetation.
The anterior dorsal fin in females plays a special role. It consists of six rays, three of which are isolated and grow separately. The first of them is directed forward and forms a kind of fishing rod hanging down to the very mouth. It has a base, a thin part - a "line", and a leathery luminous lure.
Habitat and varieties
The monkfish is found in fishermen's catches in many seas. European anglerfish distributed in the Atlantic. Here it lives at depths ranging from 20 to 500 m or more. It can be found in the seas along the coast of Europe, in the waters of the Barents and North Seas.
The Far Eastern species of monkfish lives off the coast of Japan and Korea. Occurs in Okhotsk, Zhelty, South China Seas. Usually inhabits depths from 40-50 to 200 m. The American angler lives in the northern part of the Atlantic at shallow depths, and in the southern regions it is more common in the coastal zone. It can be found at depths up to 600 m with a wide range of water temperatures (0 - 20 °C).
Juveniles hatched from eggs differ in appearance from adults. At the beginning of their lives, they feed on plankton, live for several months in the upper layers of the water, and upon reaching a length of 7 cm, they change their appearance, sink to the bottom, and become predators. Intensive growth continues during the first year of life.
Not so long ago, related species of monkfish were discovered in the depths of the ocean. They were called deep sea anglers. They can withstand enormous water pressure. They live at depths up to 2000 m.
Nutrition
Monkfish spends a lot of time in ambush. It lies motionless at the bottom, buried in the sand or disguised among rocks and aquatic vegetation. "Hunting" can take him 10 hours or more. At this time, he actively plays with bait to attract a curious victim. The leathery bulb surprisingly accurately copies the movements of a fry or shrimp.
When an interested fish is nearby, the monkfish opens its mouth and sucks in water along with the victim. It takes a matter of milliseconds, so there is practically no chance to escape from sharp teeth. In special cases, the anglerfish can jump forward by pushing with its fins, or use the reactivity of a jet of water released through its narrow gill slits.
Most often, stingrays, eels, gobies, flounders and other demersal fish predominate in the diet of monkfish. He also does not disdain shrimp and crabs. During intense zhora after spawning, it can rise to the upper layers of the water and, despite poor eyesight and smell, attack mackerel and herring. Monkfish have been reported hunting waterfowl. It can be dangerous at such moments for a person.
Monkfish: breeding
The male and female anglerfish are so different in appearance and size that until some time experts attributed them to different classes. Monkfish breeding is as special a moment as its appearance and way of hunting.
The male anglerfish is several times smaller than the female. To fertilize the eggs, he needs to find his chosen one and not lose sight of her. To do this, the males simply bite into the body of the female. The structure of the teeth does not allow them to free themselves, and they do not want to.
Over time, the female and male grow together, forming a single organism with a common body. Part of the organs and systems of the "husband" atrophies. He no longer needs eyes, fins, stomach. Nutrients come through the blood vessels from the body of the "wife". It remains only for the male to fertilize the eggs at the right time.
They are swept out by the female usually in the spring. Fertility sea anglerfish pretty high. On average, the female spawns up to 1 million eggs. This occurs at a depth, looks like a long (up to 10 m) and wide (up to 0.5 m) ribbon. The female can carry several “husbands” on her body so that they fertilize at the right time a large number of eggs.
Monkfish (see photo above) are not able to compare the feeling of hunger with the size of the prey. There is evidence of anglers catching fish larger than themselves but unable to release them due to the structure of their teeth. It happens that a monkfish catches a waterfowl and chokes on feathers, which leads to his death.
"Rod" is only in females. Each species of these fish has a peculiar bait peculiar only to them. It differs not only in form. Bacteria living in the mucus of the leathery bulb emit light of a certain range. For this they need oxygen.
The angler can adjust the glow. After eating, he temporarily compresses the blood vessels leading to the bait, and this reduces the flow of oxygen-enriched blood there. The bacteria stop glowing - the flashlight goes out. It is temporarily not needed, besides, the light can attract a larger predator.
Monkfish, although nasty in appearance, the meat is tasty, and in some regions it is considered a delicacy. The courage and voracity of this predator give reason for fear to divers and scuba divers. From a hungry angler, especially large size, better stay away.
The seas and oceans occupy more than half of the area of our planet, but they are still shrouded in secrets for mankind. We strive to conquer space and are looking for extraterrestrial civilizations, but at the same time, only 5% of the world's oceans have been explored by people. But even these data are enough to be horrified by what creatures live deep under water, where sunlight does not penetrate.
The Howliod family has 6 species of deep-sea fish, but the most common of them is the common Howliod. These fish live in almost all waters of the world's oceans, with the exception of cold waters. northern seas and the Arctic Ocean.
Howliodas got their name from Greek words"chaulios" is an open mouth, and "odous" is a tooth. Indeed, in these relatively small fish (about 30 cm long), teeth can grow up to 5 centimeters, which is why their mouth never closes, creating a terrible grin. Sometimes these fish are called sea vipers.
Howliods live at a depth of 100 to 4000 meters. At night, they prefer to rise closer to the surface of the water, and during the day they descend into the very abyss of the ocean. Thus, during the day, fish make huge migrations of several kilometers. With the help of special photophores located on the body of the howliod, they can communicate in the dark with each other.
On the dorsal fin of the viperfish there is one large photophore, with which it lures its prey directly to the mouth. After that, with a sharp bite of needle-sharp teeth, howliodas paralyze the prey, leaving it no chance of salvation. The diet mainly includes small fish and crustaceans. According to unreliable data, some individuals of howliods can live up to 30 years or more.
The long-horned sabertooth is another fearsome deep-sea predatory fish living in all four oceans. Although the sabertooth looks like a monster, it grows to a very modest size (about 15 centimeters in a dyne). The head of a fish with a large mouth occupies almost half the length of the body.
The long-horned sabertooth got its name from the long and sharp lower fangs, which are the largest in relation to the length of the body among all fish known to science. The terrifying appearance of the sabertooth earned him an unofficial name - "monster fish".
The color of adults can vary from dark brown to black. Young representatives look completely different. They have a light gray color and long spikes on their heads. The sabertooth is one of the deepest-sea fish in the world, in rare cases they descend to a depth of 5 kilometers or more. The pressure at these depths is enormous, and the water temperature is near zero. There is catastrophically little food here, so these predators hunt for the first thing that gets in their way.
The size of the deep-sea dragon fish absolutely does not fit with its ferocity. These predators, which reach a length of no more than 15 centimeters, can eat prey two or even three times its size. The dragon fish lives in tropical zones World Ocean at a depth of up to 2000 meters. The fish has a large head and a mouth equipped with many sharp teeth. Like the Howliod, the dragonfish has its own prey bait, which is a long, photophore-tipped whisker located on the chin of the fish. The principle of hunting is the same as that of all deep-sea individuals. With the help of a photophore, a predator lures its prey to the maximum close quarters, and then with a sharp movement inflicts a deadly bite.
The deep-sea angler is rightfully the ugliest fish in existence. In total, there are about 200 species of anglerfish, some of which can grow up to 1.5 meters and weigh up to 30 kilograms. Because of the creepy appearance and bad temper this fish was called the sea-devil. Deep-sea anglerfish live everywhere at a depth of 500 to 3000 meters. The fish has a dark brown color, a large flat head with many spikes. The devil's huge mouth is studded with sharp and long teeth, curved inwards.
Deep-sea anglerfish have pronounced sexual dimorphism. Females are ten times larger than males and are predators. The females have a rod with a fluorescent protrusion at the end to lure fish. Most anglers spend time on seabed burrowing into sand and silt. Due to the huge mouth, this fish can swallow whole prey, exceeding its size by 2 times. That is, hypothetically, a large anglerfish can eat a person; Fortunately, there have never been such cases in history.
Probably the strangest inhabitant sea depths you can call the bagworm or, as it is also called, the large mouth of the pelican. Due to its abnormally huge mouth with a bag and a tiny skull in relation to the length of the body, the baghort looks more like some kind of alien creature. Some individuals can reach two meters in length.
In fact, sac-like fish belong to the class of ray-finned fish, but there are not too many similarities between these monsters and cute fish that live in warm sea backwaters. Scientists believe that the appearance of these creatures has changed many thousands of years ago due to the deep-sea lifestyle. Baghorts do not have gill rays, ribs, scales and fins, and the body has an oblong shape with a luminous process on the tail. If it were not for the large mouth, then the sackcloth could easily be confused with an eel.
Mesh shorts live at depths from 2000 to 5000 meters in three world oceans, except for the Arctic. Since there is very little food at such depths, sackworms have adapted to long breaks in meals that can last more than one month. These fish feed on crustaceans and other deep-sea counterparts, mostly swallowing their prey whole.
The elusive giant squid, known to science as Architeuthis Dux, is the largest mollusk in the world and can supposedly reach a length of 18 meters and weigh half a ton. On the this moment a living giant squid has not yet fallen into human hands. Until 2004, there were no documented sightings of live giant squid at all, and general idea about these mysterious creatures formed only by the remains thrown ashore or caught in the nets of fishermen. Architeutis live at a depth of up to 1 kilometer in all oceans. Apart from giant size these creatures have the largest eyes among living beings (up to 30 centimeters in diameter).
So in 1887, the largest specimen in history, 17.4 meters long, was thrown onto the coast of New Zealand. In the following century, only two large dead representatives of the giant squid were found - 9.2 and 8.6 meters. In 2006, the Japanese scientist Tsunemi Kubodera still managed to capture on camera a live female 7 meters long in natural environment habitat at a depth of 600 meters. The squid was lured to the surface by a small bait squid, but an attempt to bring a live individual aboard the vessel was unsuccessful - the squid died from numerous injuries.
Giant squid are dangerous predators, and the only natural enemy for them are adult sperm whales. There are at least two reported cases of squid and sperm whale fighting. In the first, the sperm whale won, but soon died, suffocated by the giant tentacles of the mollusk. The second fight took place off the coast South Africa, then the giant squid fought with the baby sperm whale, and after an hour and a half fight, he still killed the whale.
giant isopod, known to science, like Bathynomus giganteus, is largest view crustaceans. The average size deep-sea isopod ranges from 30 centimeters, but the largest recorded specimen weighed 2 kilograms and was 75 centimeters long. In appearance, giant isopods are similar to woodlice, and similarly giant squid are the result of deep-sea gigantism. These crayfish live at a depth of 200 to 2500 meters, preferring to burrow into the silt.
The body of these terrible creatures is covered with hard plates that act as a shell. In case of danger, crayfish can curl into a ball and become inaccessible to predators. By the way, isopods are also predators and can eat a few small deep-sea fish and sea cucumbers. Powerful jaws and strong armor make the isopod a formidable foe. Although giant crayfish love to eat live food, they often have to eat the remains of shark prey that fall from the upper layers of the ocean.
The coelacanth or coelacanth is a large deep-sea fish, the discovery of which in 1938 became one of the most important zoological finds of the 20th century. Despite its unattractive appearance, this fish is notable for the fact that for 400 million years it has not changed its appearance and body structure. In fact, this unique relic fish is one of the oldest living creatures on planet Earth, which existed long before the advent of dinosaurs.
Latimeria lives at a depth of up to 700 meters in the waters of the Indian Ocean. The length of the fish can reach 1.8 meters with a weight of more than 100 kilograms, and the body has a beautiful blue tint. Since the coelacanth is very slow, it prefers to hunt at great depths, where there is no competition with more fast predators. These fish can swim backwards or belly up. Despite the fact that the meat of the coeliant is inedible, it is often the object of poaching among local residents. Currently ancient fish is under threat of extinction.
The deep-sea goblin shark, or as it is also called the goblin shark, is the most poorly understood shark to date. This species lives in the Atlantic and Indian Ocean at depths up to 1300 meters. The largest specimen was 3.8 meters long and weighed about 200 kilograms.
The goblin shark got its name due to its creepy appearance. Mitzekurin has mobile jaws that move outward when bitten. The goblin shark was first accidentally caught by fishermen in 1898, and since then 40 more specimens of this fish have been caught.
Another relic representative sea abyss is the only detritivorous cephalopod that has resemblance, both with squid and octopus. Own unusual name the infernal vampire received thanks to the red body and eyes, which, however, depending on the lighting, can be blue color. Despite their terrifying appearance, these strange creatures grow only up to 30 centimeters and, unlike other cephalopods, eat only plankton.
The hellish vampire's body is covered in luminous photophores, which create bright flashes of light that scare away enemies. In case of exceptional danger, these small mollusks twist their tentacles along the body, becoming like a ball with spikes. Hell vampires live at depths up to 900 meters, and can perfectly exist in water with a critical oxygen level for other animals of 3% or less.
I will tell you today about one terrible, but charming inhabitant of the deep sea - deep sea anglerfish . At the mention of this creature, a frame from the cartoon about the fish Nemo immediately comes to mind.
This picture is not far from the truth :)
deep sea anglers or ceratioidei (lat. Ceratioidei) - a suborder of deep-sea fish from the anglerfish order, whose representatives live at great depths of the oceans.
Deep-sea anglerfish constantly live at a depth of about 1500 - 3000 m. They are characterized by a spherical, laterally flattened theme and the presence of a "fishing rod" in females. Their bare skin is black or dark brown; in some species, the skin may be covered with transformed scales - spines and plaques.
Traditionally, deep-sea fish are thought to have bloated bodies with bulging eyes and ugly shapes, but this is not the case. Deep-sea fish take on the appearance of swollen bodies when they are raised to the surface in fishing nets due to excess internal pressure, which at depths of 1500-3000 meters is 150-300 atmospheres.
Anglerfish are distinguished by pronounced sexual dimorphism. Females are much larger than males and are predators. They have a large mouth, powerful teeth, and a highly extensible stomach. The first ray of the dorsal fin of females is turned into a "fishing rod" (illicium) with a luminous "bait" (escoy) at the end. But the most pronounced sexual dimorphism is manifested in size. The length of females varies from 5 cm to 1 m, the length of males - from 16 mm to 4 cm.
Illicium in females of various species varies in shape and size and is provided with various skin appendages. In some species, the illicium is able to extend and retract into a special canal on its back. While luring the prey, the anglerfish gradually moves the luminous bait to the mouth until it swallows its prey.
The luminous organ is a mucus-filled gland containing bioluminescent bacteria. Thanks to the expansion of the walls of the arteries that supply the gland with blood, the fish can arbitrarily cause the glow of bacteria that need oxygen to do this, or stop it by constricting the vessels. Usually the glow occurs in the form of a series of successive flashes, individual for each species. The benthic galateatum, which lives at a depth of about 3600 m, has a luminous bait in its mouth. Unlike other deep-sea anglers, she apparently hunts lying on the bottom.
Adult female anglerfish feed on deep-sea fish, crustaceans, and, less commonly, cephalopods; males - copepods and chaetognaths. The stomach of females is able to stretch very strongly, due to which they can swallow prey, often exceeding them in size. The voracity of anglers sometimes leads to their own death. They found dead anglers with swallowed fish, exceeding them in size by more than 2 times. Having captured such a large prey, the angler cannot release it because of the peculiar structure of the teeth and chokes.
Good night everyone and good dreams! :)