You are here:
BBC >
Science & Nature >
Animals >
Sea Life >
Animal Facts
 |
|
| |
|
|
Waving lure angler/Football fish
Himantolophus spp.
The football fish, Himantolophus groenlandicus, is said to be the first deep-sea angler fish ever discovered, washing ashore on a beach in Greenland in 1833. These round, ball-like fish are typically deep-living, waving their bioluminescent lures to attract their prey.
Subspecies
There are 18 species.
Statistics
Most species are small at around 4cm (1.5in), but some species can grow to as large as 40cm (15in). Males are considerably smaller than females.
Physical Description
This angler is a rugby-ball-shaped fish, with a large lower jaw and a strange lure on a stalk protruding from its forehead.
It has a symbiotic relationship with luminous bacteria. The bacteria are cultivated in the fish's lure making it glow at the tip.
Distribution
They are found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Habitat
Deep-sea fish, they live mid-water.
Diet
Waving lure angler fish feed on fish, crustaceans and molluscs.
Behaviour
They float in the darkness, waving their bioluminescent lures to attract prey. The bioluminescence is caused by colonies of bacteria housed within the lure. These bacteria produce the substance luciferin which, when mixed with the enzyme luciferase, produces light.
Reproduction
In most deep sea angler fishes, the male becomes a 'parasite' of the female, biting on to and fusing with her body, he relies on her for nutrients from her blood while providing sperm. In this family, however, no female has ever been found with a male attached. It is therefore thought that females are fertilised by free swimming males that do not remain co-joined.
Conservation status
As it is difficult to observe these fish in their natural, deep-sea habitat, details of their biology, such as reproductive behaviour and distribution, are still a mystery.
|
|
|
|
|
|
