The Ugly Life of an Anglerfish

Published by FISHfan
August 31, 2012, Category: Zoology

The angry-looking fish has earned the first spot in the animal kingdom for being ugly, cranky and lonely. Fish bloggers critics call him a "Better boyfriend than Edward Cullen" A better boyfriend or not, it’s believed that the anglerfish is the ugliest fish of the Atlantic and Antarctic Oceans. The anglerfish lives in a harsh and difficult environment: where’s dark, lonely and no one wants to hang out with them.

The ocean is home to 200 species of anglerfish, most live in the dark and gloomy waters of the Atlantic and Antarctic oceans and the rest of the species like to live in tropical waters. For the most part, retain their dark gray to dark brown in color; they have colossal heads and huge mouths filled with sharp teeth. Anglerfish can grow up to 3 feet long, but the majority of the anglerfish are smaller, less than a foot.

The females have always fascinated ichthyologists; their most amazing feature is a piece of dorsal spine that extends beyond their lovely mouths like fishing poles. Their mouths are huge and their bodies are easily bent, they don’t have a hard time swallowing their preys, even if their prey is twice their own size. On the other hand, the males are quite boring, and they are significantly smaller. When is time to reproduce, the male will attach to her using his teeth, connecting to her while the female is having fun, the male will lose his eyes and internal organs except for the reproductive organs. A female can have six or more males at the same time.

Another amazing feature of the anglerfish is the spine. The spine is very maneuverable, they can move in any direction they want. When is time to hunt for its prey, the fish remain motionless until its prey is near enough to use its powerful jaws to attack and eat. Because these fish live where food is scarce, their stomach can extend to an incredible size just like its jaw, allowing the fish to swallow any prey twice the size of its body. Think of it as a way to stock up on food, the stomach will digest its food at a slow rate.