Monkfish is the most extravagant looking member of the squad . Anglerfish of the class Radioparidae fish. It lives at an impressive depth, thanks to its unique ability to withstand tremendous pressure. We offer you to get to know this deep-sea creature with amazing taste and learn some interesting facts about it.
Appearance
We will get acquainted with the description of the sea line - sea fish, which prefers deep crevices where sunlight never gets. European anglerfish is a large fish, body length reaches one and a half meters, about 70% falls on the head, the average weight is about 20 kg. Distinctive features of fish are as follows:
- A huge mouth with a lot of small but sharp teeth gives it a repulsive look. The fangs are located in the jaw in a special way: at an angle, which makes the capture of prey even more effective.
- The bare and scaleless scalp with fringe, tubercles and spikes also does not adorn the deep-sea resident.
- On the head is the so-called fishing rod - a continuation of the dorsal fin, at the end of which there is a leathery bait. This feature of the monkfish determines its second name - anglerfish, despite the fact that the fishing rod is present exclusively in females.
- The bait consists of mucus and is a leathery bag that emits light due to luminous bacteria living in the mucus. Interestingly, each species of anglerfish emits light of a certain color.
- The upper jaw is more mobile than the lower, and due to the flexibility of the bones of the fish, they can swallow prey of impressive size.
- Small closely set round eyes are located on the top of the head.
- The color of the fish is nondescript: from dark gray to dark brown, which helps anglers to successfully disguise themselves at the bottom and cleverly grab prey.
The interesting thing is how the fish hunts: it hides, putting out its bait. As soon as some reckless little fish is interested, the devil will open his mouth and swallow it.
Habitat
Find out where the angler (monkfish) lives. The habitat depends on the species. So, European anglers prefer to live at a depth of up to 200 meters, but their deep-sea cousins, of which more than a hundred species have been found, have chosen hollows and crevices for themselves, where there is a lot of pressure and there is no sunlight at all. They can be found at a depth of 1.5 to 5 km in the seas of the Atlantic Ocean.
Anglers are also found in the so-called Southern (Antarctic) Ocean, uniting the waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans, washing the shores of the white continent - Antarctica. Lives in the waters of the Baltic and Barents, Okhotsk and Yellow Seas, off the coast of Korea and Japan, some species are found in the Black Sea.
Varieties
Devils - fish from the order Anglers. Currently, eight species are known, one of them extinct. Representatives of each of them have a characteristic frightening appearance.
- American angler. It belongs to the bottom species, the body length is impressive - adult females are often more than a meter. Outwardly resemble tadpoles because of the huge head. Life expectancy is up to 30 years.
- South European angler or black-bellied. The body length is about a meter, the name of the species is associated with the color of the peritoneum, the back and sides of the fish are pinkish-gray. Life expectancy is about 20 years.
- West Atlantic angler - bottom fish, reaching a length of 60 cm. The object of fishing.
- Cape (Burmese). The most noticeable part of his body is a giant flattened head, a short tail is also characteristic.
- Japanese (yellow, Far Eastern). They have an unusual body color - brown-yellow, live in the Japanese and East China Seas.
- South African It lives on the southern coast of Africa.
- European. A very large angler, the body length of which reaches 2 meters, is distinguished by a huge crescent-shaped mouth, small sharp teeth resemble hooks in their shape. Fishing rod length - up to 50 cm.
Thus, all types of anglerfish have common features - a huge mouth with a large number of small but sharp teeth, a fishing rod with bait - the most unusual way of hunting among the inhabitants of the underwater depths, naked skin. In general, the fish look is really frightening, so the big name is justified.
Lifestyle
Scientists believe that the first anglerfish appeared on the planet more than 120 million years ago. The shape of the body and the specifics of the lifestyle are largely due to where the monk prefers to live. If the fish is bottom, then it is almost flat, but if the anglerfish settled closer to the surface, it has a body compressed laterally. But regardless of the habitat, the monkfish (anglerfish) refers to predators.
Damn - the fish is unique, it moves along the bottom not like its other brethren, but by jumps, carried out thanks to a strong pectoral fin. From this, another name for the marine inhabitant is a frog fish.
Fish prefer not to expend energy, therefore, even when swimming, they spend no more than 2% of their energy supply. They are distinguished by an enviable patience, they can not move for a long time, waiting for prey, almost not even breathe - the pause between sighs is about 100 seconds.
Nutrition
It was previously considered how the monk hunts prey, attracting it with a luminous bait. It is interesting that the fish does not perceive the size of its prey, often large individuals come into its mouth, larger in size than the angler itself, so he cannot eat them. And due to the specifics of the device, the jaw cannot let go.
Anglerfish is famous for its incredible gluttony and courage, so it can even attack scuba divers. Of course, deaths from such an attack are unlikely, but the sharp teeth of a sea angler can disfigure a careless person’s body.
Favorite food
As previously mentioned, anglers are predators, preferring to use other deep-sea inhabitants of the seas as food. Favorite delicacies of the monkfish include:
- Cod.
- Flounder.
- The slopes are small in size.
- Acne
- Cuttlefish.
- Squid.
- Crustaceans.
Sometimes mackerel or herring become victims of predators, this happens if a hungry anglerfish rises closer to the surface.
Breeding
Monkfish (anglerfish) is amazing in almost everything. For example, the breeding process is very unusual for marine life, and for wildlife in general. When partners find each other, the male sticks to the belly of his chosen one and tightly grows to it, as if the fish become a single organism. Gradually, the process goes even further - the fish have common skin, blood vessels, and certain male organs - fins and eyes - atrophy as unnecessary. It is because of this feature that the researchers for a long time could not find the male angler and describe it.
In males, only the gills, heart and genitals continue to function.
Interesting Facts
Having got acquainted with the description of the sea line and the features of its lifestyle, we offer you to find out some interesting facts about this creepy fish:
- Fishing rods of some deep-sea anglers are clearly divided into fishing rod, fishing line and bait, becoming an almost exact copy of fishing tackle.
- Some species of anglerfish are considered genuine delicacies. For example, the tender meat of a monk fish or the liver of a goose fish are those dishes that dream to taste real gourmets. They love the monkfish in France, where soups and main dishes are prepared from its tail.
- A very hungry representative of anglers can catch even a waterfowl, but hunting will be the last for him - choking on feathers and feathers, the fish will die.
- Males and females are very different in size. So, for a female about 60 cm long, the male will be no more than 6 cm. Therefore, males also parasitize on their “girlfriends”, becoming part of a single whole.
Such is the sea line - an unusual creation of nature, an inhabitant of the depths and a striking predator using a trick not characteristic of other representatives of the fauna. Due to its delicious white meat, almost boneless, the anglerfish is a commercial fish.