ANGLERFISH

any of about 210 species of marine fishes of the order Lophiiformes. Anglers are named for their method of fishing for their prey. The foremost spine of the dorsal fin is located on the head and is modified into a fishing rod tipped with a fleshy bait. Prey fishes who are attracted to this lure stray close enough for the anglerfish to swallow them. Often bizarre in form, anglerfishes are also characterized by small gill openings and by limblike pectoral and (in some species) pelvic fins. Most species of anglerfishes inhabit the sea bottom. They are divided into four groups: batfish, goosefish, frogfish (qq.v.), and deep-sea angler. The deep-sea anglers comprise about 10 families of the suborder Ceratioidei. Unlike other anglers, they lack pelvic fins, and they swim about, though feebly, rather than live on the bottom. They may be up to 1.2 m (4 feet) long, but most are much smaller. Only the females have a fishing rod. This ranges from short to long, and the baitalmost always luminousfrom simple to ornate. In some species there are also other luminous organs. Deep-sea anglers prey on various fishes and invertebrates. Some have been known to swallow prey larger than themselves. Four families are notable for the fact that the males are very small in comparison with the females and, further, live as permanent parasites on their mates. In these species, the male attaches himself, by biting, to the body of the female. His mouth fuses with her skin, and the bloodstreams of the two fishes become connected, the male thereafter remaining totally dependent on the female for nourishment.