Page 21 - Super Shark Encyclopedia

HANGER-ON
Females also use their lantern to attract
a mate. Male anglerfish do not feed, so
they cannot grow as big as the females.
Instead, once they have found a
female, they latch onto her to fertilize Short tube directs
light outward like
her eggs. Males of some species of
a flashlight
deep-sea anglerfish even stick to the
Male female permanently, surviving on
anglerfish nourishment provided by her body. Seawater flowing
in is the source
of bacteria

Eyes have extra-large
pupils for letting in as
much light as possible
Bacteria living in the
capsule produce light

Lure sits at
the top of LURING THEM IN
a long spine
A fleshy “lantern” dangles from
a stalk on the anglerfish’s head.
It contains a thick soup of
bacteria that enter the lantern
from the surrounding seawater.
These bacteria use chemicals
produced by the fish to glow.

Long, slightly curved
teeth work like fangs
for stabbing prey

Massive lower jaw
can open wide to
swallow large prey

The black skin lacks shiny
scales, so it absorbs the
light given off by the lure,
AMAZING ANATOMY
making it invisible to prey

Luminous lady
This big-mouthed anglerfish is female. Males
Stomach
expands to are much smaller and do not carry lanterns.
hold large prey Like many other deep-sea fish, anglerfish have
black skin to blend in with the background.

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