Anglerfish

File:Pediculati - Le règne animal.jpg, Le Règne Animal. Toadfish (Batrachoididae) such as Batrachoides surinamensis (middle) are no longer considered close to anglerfish]]

Anglerfish were first grouped in the family of Acanthopterygians with "pediculate pectoral [fin]s" ({{Lang|fr|pectorales pédiculėes|italic=yes}}) by Cuvier in the 1829 edition of Le Règne Animal;{{cite book |last1=Cuvier |first1=Georges |last2=Latreille |first2=Pierre André |title=Le règne animal distribué d'après son organisation, pour servir de base à l'histoire naturelle des animaux et d'introduction à l'anatomie comparée |date=1829–1830 |publisher=Paris Chez Déterville |location=Paris |pages=249–254 |edition=Nouvelle édition rev. et aug.|language=French|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/99171#page/271/mode/1up |access-date=21 March 2025}} being characterized by possessing "a sort of arm supporting their pectorals, formed by an elongated carpal bone". Cuvier placed the genera Lophius (incl. Lophius piscatorius), Chironectes/Antennarius (incl. various subspecies of Lophius histrio), Malthe (incl. Lophius vespertilio), and Batrachus within this family. Translations of this work into English and Latin renderred the family name as "Pectorales Pediculati";{{cite book |last1=Cuvier |first1=Georges |last2=Griffith |first2=Edward |last3=Smith |first3=Charles Hamilton |title=The CLASS PISCES: arranged by the Baron Cuvier, with supplementary additions |series=The animal kingdom : arranged in conformity with its organization / Alternative: Classified index and synopsis of the animal kingdom Uniform: Règne animal (Translation, with additions, of: Le règne animal.)) |date=1827–1835 |publisher=for G.B. Whittaker |location=London |pages=245–250 |edition=the First |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/17704#page/333/mode/1up |access-date=22 March 2025}}{{cite book |last1=Cuvier |first1=Georges |last2=McMurtrie|first2=Henry |title=The animal kingdom : arranged in conformity with its organization |date=1831 |publisher=G. & C. & H. Carvill |location= New York |pages=183–186 |edition=the First |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/17746#page/203/mode/1up |access-date=22 March 2025}} which was eventually truncated into Pediculati or Pediculata (pediculate fish),{{Efn|name=Ped1|{{cite book |last1=Müller |first1=J.P. |title=Abhandlungen der Königlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin |date=1839 |publisher=Deutsche Akademie der Wissenschaften |location=Berlin |page=249 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/92568#page/311/mode/1up |access-date=22 March 2025}}{{Mindat|title=Pediculati ✝|id=P355533|url=https://www.mindat.org/taxon-P355533.html|access-date=22 March 2025}}{{cite web |title=Pediculati plural noun |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Pediculati |website=www.merriam-webster.com |publisher=Merriam-Webster |access-date=22 March 2025}}{{cite web |title=order pediculati |url=https://www.wordnik.com/words/order%20pediculati |website=wordnik.com |publisher=Wordnik |access-date=22 March 2025}}{{cite web |title=Pediculate Definition |url=https://www.yourdictionary.com/pediculate |website=www.yourdictionary.com |publisher=LoveToKnow Media. |access-date=22 March 2025}}}} these names being used to classify anglerfish through 1926.{{Efn|name=Ped2|{{cite journal |last1=Gill |first1=Theodore |title=Descriptions of Some New Species of Pediculati, and on the Classification of the Group |journal=Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia |date=1863 |volume=15 |pages=88–92 |jstor=4059748 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4059748 |access-date=22 March 2025}}{{cite book |last1=Annandale |first1=Nelson |last2=Jenkins |first2=James Travis |title=Report on the fishes taken by the Bengal fisheries steamer "Golden Crown." |date=1909–1910 |publisher=Indian Museum |location=Calcutta |pages=17–21 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/48570#page/110/mode/1up |access-date=22 March 2025}}{{cite book |last1=Jaekel |first1=Otto |title=Die Wirbeltiere : eine Übersicht über die fossilen und lebenden Formen |date=1911 |publisher=Verlag Gebrüder Borntraeger |location=Berlin |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/208215#page/110/mode/1up |access-date=22 March 2025}}{{cite journal| author=Regan, C.T. |author-link=Charles Tate Regan |year=1912 |title=The classification of the teleostean fishes of the order Pediculati |journal=Annals and Magazine of Natural History Series |series=8 & 9 |volume=9 |issue=51 |pages=277–289 |doi=10.1080/00222931208693132 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/18639034#page/289/mode/1up}}{{cite journal |last1=Regan |first1=Charles Tate |title=Dwarfed males parasitic on the females in oceanic angler-fishes (Pediculati ceratioidea) |journal= Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Containing Papers of a Biological Character|date=2 February 1925 |volume=97 |issue=684 |pages=386–400 |doi=10.1098/rspb.1925.0006 |doi-access=free }}{{cite book |last1=Breder Jr. |first1=C. M. |title=Heterosomata to Pediculati from Panama to Lower California, in the Bulletin of the Bigham Oceanographic Collection |date=1926 |publisher=New Haven Conn. |location=New York |pages=52–53 |edition=2 |url=https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1010&context=bulletin_yale_bingham_oceanographic_collection |access-date=22 March 2025}}{{cite journal |last1=Regan |first1=CT. |title=The pediculate fishes of the suborder Ceratioidea |journal=Dana Ocean Rep. |date=1926 |volume=1 |pages=1–45 |doi=10.1163/9789004629462}}}} Though this term saw use in publications as late as the 1970s,{{cite book |last1=Le Danois |first1=Yseult |title=Poissons Pédiculates Haploptérygiens : Lophiidae et Chaunacidae |publisher=Muséum National D'Histoire Naturelle, Laboratoire d’Ichthyologie Génerale et Appliquée |location=Paris |date=1976 |url=https://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/pleins_textes_2/memoires/00592.pdf |access-date=22 March 2025}} Pediculati has fallen out of use.{{cite journal |last1=Pietsch |first1=T. W. |last2=Bauchot |first2=M. L. |last3=Desoutter |first3=M. |title=Catalogue critique des types de Poissons du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle |journal=Bull. Mus. Natn. Hist, Nat., Paris |date=1986 |volume=4 |issue=8 |url=https://ia801002.us.archive.org/26/items/biostor-251969/biostor-251969.pdf |access-date=22 March 2025}}

The group Lophidia was conceived by Samuel Garman in 1899;{{cite journal |first1=S.|last1=Garman|title=Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy, at Harvard College, Cambridge, Mass |date=December 1899 |journal=Harvard University. Museum of Comparative Zoology. |volume=XXIV|pages=75–107|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/12691893#page/85/mode/1up |access-date=22 March 2025}} this group was subdivided into the Lophioids (incl. Lophius, Lophiomus, Melanocetus, Dolopichthys, Chaunax, and Chaunacops) and the Halieutoids (incl. Oncocephalus, Halieutaea, Halieutella, Halieutichthys, Halieutopsis, Halicmetus, Dibranchus, Dibranchichthys, and Malthopsis) based on the orientation of the ilicium's base. By 1905, Lophiiformes came into use, at that time being a suborder of Pediculati.{{cite book |last1=Sedgwick |first1=Adam |last2=Lister |first2=Joseph Jackson |last3=Shipley |first3=Arthur Everett |title=A student's text-book of zoology |date=1898–1909 |publisher=Swan Sonnenschein and co. |location=London |volume=II |pages=245 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/64560#page/265/mode/1up |access-date=22 March 2025}}

Anglerfishes were classified by the 5th edition of Fishes of the World into 5 suborders and 18 families.{{cite book |author1=Nelson, J.S. |author1-link=Joseph S. Nelson |author2=Grande, T.C. |author3=Wilson, M.V.H. |year=2016 |title=Fishes of the World |edition=5th |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |place=Hoboken, NJ |pages=508–518 |isbn=978-1-118-34233-6 |lccn=2015037522 |oclc=951899884 |ol=25909650M |doi=10.1002/9781119174844}}{{cite journal | author1 = Richard van der Laan | author2 = William N. Eschmeyer | author3 = Ronald Fricke | name-list-style = amp |year=2014 | title = Family-group names of recent fishes | url = https://biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.3882.1.1/10480 | journal = Zootaxa | volume = 3882 | issue = 2 | pages = 1–230| doi = 10.11646/zootaxa.3882.1.1 | pmid = 25543675 | doi-access = free }}

• Suborder Lophioidei Regan, 1912
• Family Lophiidae Rafinesque, 1810 (Monkfishes and goosefishes)
• Suborder Antennarioidei Regan, 1912
• Family Antennariidae Jarocki 1822 (Frogfishes)
• Family Tetrabrachiidae Regan, 1912 (Tetrabrachid frogfishes)
• Family Lophichthyidae Boeseman, 1964 (Lophichthyid frogfishes)
• Family Brachionichthyidae Gill, 1863 (Handfishes or warty anglerfishes)
• Suborder Chaunacoidei Pietsch & Grobecker, 1987
• Family Chaunacidae Gill, 1863 (Sea toad)
• Suborder Ogcocephaloidei Pietsch, 1984
• Family Ogcocephalidae Gill, 1893 (Batfishes)
• Suborder Ceratioidei Regan, 1912
• Family Caulophrynidae Goode & Bean, 1896 (Fanfins)
• Family Neoceratiidae Regan, 1926 (Spiny seadevils)
• Family Melanocetidae Gill, 1878 (Black seadevils)
• Family Himantolophidae Gill, 1861 (Footballfishes)
• Family Diceratiidae Regan & Trewavas, 1932 (Double anglers)
• Family Oneirodidae Gill, 1878 (Dreamers)
• Family Thaumatichthyidae Smith & Radcliffe, 1912 (Wolftrap anglers)
• Family Centrophrynidae Bertelsen, 1951 (Prickly seadevils)
• Family Ceratiidae Gill, 1861 (Warty seadevils)
• Family Gigantactinidae Boulenger, 1904 (Whipnose anglers)
• Family Linophrynidae Regan, 1925 (Leftvents)

{{clear}}

Alternatively, Lophiiformes may be treated as clade within Acanthuriformes; a 2025 paper defines Lophioidei as equivalent to the prior conception of Lophiiformes (the one depicted above) and converts the suborders into infraorders (as seen below). Below are two phylogenetic trees; the left phylogeny elaborates on the relationships of the suborders within Lophiiformes as set out in Pietsch and Grobecker's 1987 Frogfishes of the World: Systematics, Zoogeography, and Behavioral Ecology, while the right phylogeny is based on the 2025 study, where Maile et al combines the analysis of Ultra-Conserved Elements (UCE)s, mitochondrial DNA, and morphological evidence;{{cite journal |last1=Maile |first1=Alex J. |last2=Smith |first2=W. Leo |last3=Davis |first3=Matthew P. |title=A total-evidence phylogenetic approach to understanding the evolution, depth transitions, and body-shape changes in the anglerfishes and allies (Acanthuriformes: Lophioidei) |journal=PLOS |date=May 2, 2025 |volume=20 |issue=5 |pages=e0322369 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0322369 |doi-access=free |pmid=40315280 |pmc=12047784 |bibcode=2025PLoSO..2022369M }}

Phylogenetic studies have consistently recovered the Lophiiformes as sister-group to the Tetraodontiformes, with both within the larger clade Acanthuriformes as of 2025.{{cite journal |last1=Ghezelayagh |first1=Ava |last2=Harrington |first2=Richard C. |last3=Burress |first3=Edward D. |last4=Campbell |first4=Matthew A. |last5=Buckner |first5=Janet C. |last6=Chakrabarty |first6=Prosanta |last7=Glass |first7=Jessica R. |last8=McCraney |first8=W. Tyler |last9=Unmack |first9=Peter J. |last10=Thacker |first10=Christine E. |last11=Alfaro |first11=Michael E. |last12=Friedman |first12=Sarah T. |last13=Ludt |first13=William B. |last14=Cowman |first14=Peter F. |last15=Friedman |first15=Matt |last16=Price |first16=Samantha A. |last17=Dornburg |first17=Alex |last18=Faircloth |first18=Brant C. |last19=Wainwright |first19=Peter C. |last20=Near |first20=Thomas J. |title=Prolonged morphological expansion of spiny-rayed fishes following the end-Cretaceous |journal=Nature Ecology & Evolution |volume=6 |pages=1211–1220 |doi=10.1038/s41559-022-01801-3 |publisher=Nature |date=14 July 2022|issue=8 |pmid=35835827 |bibcode=2022NatEE...6.1211G }} The Lophiiformes and Tetraodontiformes are united by several derived morphological features separating them from other Acanthuriformes, including restricted gill openings, along with the absence of multiple skeletal elements, such as spines supporting the anal fin, ribs, nasals, and basisphenoid.

The earliest fossils of anglerfish are from the Eocene, excavated from the Monte Bolca formation of Italy, and these already show evidence of diversification into the modern families that make up the order.{{Cite journal |last1=Pietsch |first1=Theodore W. |last2=Carnevale |first2=Giorgio |date=2011 |title=A New Genus and Species of Anglerfish (Teleostei: Lophiiformes: Lophiidae) from the Eocene of Monte Bolca, Italy |url=https://bioone.org/journals/copeia/volume-2011/issue-1/CI-10-080/A-New-Genus-and-Species-of-Anglerfish-Teleostei--Lophiiformes/10.1643/CI-10-080.full |journal=Copeia |volume=2011 |issue=1 |pages=64–71 |doi=10.1643/CI-10-080 |issn=0045-8511|url-access=subscription }} Given this, and their close relationship to the Tetraodontiformes which are known from Cretaceous fossils, they likely originated during the Cretaceous.{{Cite journal |last1=Chanet |first1=Bruno |last2=Guintard |first2=Claude |last3=Betti |first3=Eric |last4=Gallut |first4=Cyril |last5=Dettai |first5=Agnes |last6=Lecointre |first6=Guillaume |date=2013-09-01 |title=Evidence for a close phylogenetic relationship between the teleost orders Tetraodontiformes and Lophiiformes based on an analysis of soft anatomy/Des donnees d'anatomie molle corroborent l'etroite parente entre Tetraodontiformes et Lophiiformes |url=https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&issn=03990974&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA350167987&sid=googleScholar&linkaccess=abs |journal=Cybium |language=English |volume=37 |issue=3 |pages=179–199}}{{Citation |last1=Miller |first1=Elizabeth Christina |title=Phylogenomics reveals the deep ocean as an accelerator for evolutionary diversification in anglerfishes |date=2023-10-30 |url=https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.10.26.564281v1 |access-date=2023-12-21 |language=en |doi=10.1101/2023.10.26.564281 |last2=Faucher |first2=Rose |last3=Hart |first3=Pamela B. |last4=Rincon-Sandoval |first4=Melissa |last5=Santaquiteria |first5=Aintzane |last6=White |first6=William T. |last7=Baldwin |first7=Carole C. |last8=Miya |first8=Masaki |last9=Betancur-R |first9=Ricardo}}

A 2010 mitochondrial genome phylogenetic study suggested the anglerfishes diversified in a short period during the early to mid-Cretaceous, between 130 and 100 million years ago. A more recent preprint reduces this time to the Late Cretaceous, between 92 and 61 million years ago.{{Update inline|date=May 2025|reason=Has the preprint been published? If so, update it}} Other studies indicate that anglerfish only originated shortly after the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event as part of a massive adaptive radiation of percomorphs, although this clashes with the extensive diversity already known from the group by the Eocene.{{Cite journal |last1=Alfaro |first1=Michael E. |last2=Faircloth |first2=Brant C. |last3=Harrington |first3=Richard C. |last4=Sorenson |first4=Laurie |last5=Friedman |first5=Matt |last6=Thacker |first6=Christine E. |last7=Oliveros |first7=Carl H. |last8=Černý |first8=David |last9=Near |first9=Thomas J. |date=2018 |title=Explosive diversification of marine fishes at the Cretaceous–Palaeogene boundary |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-018-0494-6 |journal=Nature Ecology & Evolution |language=en |volume=2 |issue=4 |pages=688–696 |doi=10.1038/s41559-018-0494-6 |pmid=29531346 |bibcode=2018NatEE...2..688A |issn=2397-334X|url-access=subscription }} A 2024 study found that all anglerfish suborders most likely diverged from one another during the Late Cretaceous and Paleocene, but the multiple families of deep-sea anglerfishes (Ceratioidei), as well as their trademark sexual parasitism, originated during the Eocene in a rapid radiation following the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum.{{Cite journal |last1=Brownstein |first1=Chase D. |last2=Zapfe |first2=Katerina L. |last3=Lott |first3=Spencer |last4=Harrington |first4=Richard |last5=Ghezelayagh |first5=Ava |last6=Dornburg |first6=Alex |last7=Near |first7=Thomas J. |date=2024 |title=Synergistic innovations enabled the radiation of anglerfishes in the deep open ocean |journal=Current Biology |volume=34 |issue=11 |pages=2541–2550.e4 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2024.04.066 |issn=0960-9822|doi-access=free |pmid=38788708 |bibcode=2024CBio...34.2541B }} Adaptations to different ranges of depths may have driven the evolution of anglerfish species and families in prehistory.

Anglerfish appear in the fossil record as follows:{{cite journal|last=Sepkoski |first=Jack |title=A compendium of fossil marine animal genera |journal=Bulletins of American Paleontology |volume=364 |page=560 |year=2002 |url=http://strata.ummp.lsa.umich.edu/jack/showgenera.php?taxon=611&rank=class |access-date=17 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723131237/http://strata.ummp.lsa.umich.edu/jack/showgenera.php?taxon=611&rank=class |archive-date=23 July 2011 }}{{cite journal|last=Carnevale|first=Giorgio|author2=Theodore W. Pietsch|author3=Gary T. Takeuchi|author4=Richard W. Huddleston|title=Fossil Ceratioid Anglerfishes (Teleostei: Lophiformes) from the Miocene of the Los Angeles Basin, California|journal=Journal of Paleontology|year=2008|volume=82|issue=5|pages=996–1008|url=http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/collections/ichthyology/documents/pietsch/Fossil_ceratioids_pietsch.pdf|doi=10.1666/07-113.1|bibcode=2008JPal...82..996C |s2cid=129926776|access-date=2022-10-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303225330/http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/collections/ichthyology/documents/pietsch/Fossil_ceratioids_pietsch.pdf|archive-date=2016-03-03|url-status=dead}}{{cite Q|Q114229338|url=http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/collections/ichthyology/documents/pietsch/Acentrophryne_fossil.pdf}}{{cite journal|last=Nazarkin |first=Mikhail V.|author2=Theodore W. Pietsch|title=A fossil dreamer of the genus Oneirodes (Lophiiformes: Ceratioidei) from the Miocene of Sakhalin Island, Russia |journal=Geological Magazine|year=2020|volume=157|issue=8|pages=1378–1382|doi=10.1017/S0016756820000588 |bibcode=2020GeoM..157.1378N |s2cid=225386060 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/geological-magazine/article/abs/fossil-dreamer-of-the-genus-oneirodes-lophiiformes-ceratioidei-from-the-miocene-of-sakhalin-island-russia/830C25FDF91ADFAE8CF8C4B0817A7E0D|access-date=2022-10-27|url-access=subscription}}

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File:Histrio histrio.jpg, up to {{convert|20|cm|abbr=on}} TL) is a frogfish well-adapted to live among sargassum]]

Anglerfish are defined by gills that open behind the pectoral fins (as opposed to other fish whose pectorals lay behind the gill opening), depressible teeth that can hinge back, joints of the epiotic bone, the form of the pectoral fin radials, and the luring apparatus (see subsection).

Anglerfish lengths can vary from {{convert|2-18|cm|in|0|abbr=on}}, with a few species larger than {{convert|100|cm|in|0|abbr=on}}.{{cite web |title=Anglerfish |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/facts/anglerfish |website=National Geographic |date=10 September 2010 |access-date=28 February 2019}} The largest members are the European monkfish Lophius piscatorius {{{Convert|200|cm|ft|abbr=on}} SL, {{Convert|57.7|kg|lbs}}), the deep-sea warty anglerfish Ceratias holboelli ({{Convert|120|cm|ft|abbr=on}} TL), the giant frogfish Antennarius commerson ({{Convert|45|cm|ft|abbr=on}} TL), and the giant triangular batfish Malthopsis gigas ({{Convert|13.6|cm|ft|abbr=on}}).{{FishBase|genus=Lophius|species=piscatorius|id=716}}{{FishBase|genus=Ceratias|species=holboelli|id=4572}}{{FishBase|genus=Antennarius|species=commerson|id=7293}}{{FishBase|genus=Malthopsis|species=gigas|id=65442}}

Many suborders are sexually dimorphic, with the deep-sea anglerfish being the most extreme example; male C. holboelli can reach up to {{Convert|16|cm|in}} long (SL), while females are commonly around {{Convert|77|cm|ft}} TL, potentially weighing an order of magnitude more than her mate.{{cite journal |last1=Pietsch |first1=Theodore W. |authorlink=Theodore Wells Pietsch III|title=Dimorphism, parasitism, and sex revisited: modes of reproduction among deep-sea ceratioid anglerfishes (Teleostei: Lophiiformes) |journal=Ichthyological Research |date=August 2005 |volume=52 |issue=3 |pages=207–236 |doi=10.1007/s10228-005-0286-2 |bibcode=2005IchtR..52..207P |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10228-005-0286-2 |issn=1341-8998|access-date=1 March 2025|url-access=subscription }} Male Photocorynus spiniceps were measured to be {{convert|6.2|-|7.3|mm|in|abbr=on}} at maturity, and were at one time claimed to be the smallest vertebrate known. However, due to not being free-living (being parasitic males) and the females being {{convert|50.5|mm|in|abbr=on}}, they are now often excluded from the records.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4645708.stm| work=BBC News | title=Scientists find 'smallest fish' | date=2006-01-25 | access-date=2010-05-23}}{{cite web|url=http://www.amonline.net.au/fishes/faq/smallest.htm |title=What is the smallest species of fish? |publisher=Amonline.net.au |date=2013-09-27 |access-date=2013-10-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090220152323/http://amonline.net.au/fishes/faq/smallest.htm |archive-date=February 20, 2009}}{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4666736.stm | work=BBC News | title=Smallest fish compete for honours | date=2006-01-31 | access-date=2010-05-23}}{{cite web|url=http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/041027_Smallest_Fish.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080706153957/http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/041027_Smallest_Fish.html|title=Bragging Rights: The Smallest Fish Ever | LiveScience|website=Live Science |archive-date=July 6, 2008}} Sexual dimorphism is not as pronounced in other suborders; the Lophiid monkfish genus Lophiodes are quite similar in size between the genders (Mean for Males {{Convert|113|-|133|mm|in}} SL; Females {{Convert|131|-|171|mm|in}} SL),{{cite journal |last1=Pietsch |first1=Theodore W. |last2=Ross |first2=Steve W. |last3=Caruso |first3=John H. |last4=Saunders |first4=Miles G. |last5=Fisher |first5=Charles R. |title=In-Situ Observations of the Deep-sea Goosefish Sladenia shaefersi Caruso and Bullis (Lophiiformes: Lophiidae), with Evidence of Extreme Sexual Dimorphism |journal=Copeia |date=December 2013 |volume=2013 |issue=4 |pages=660–665 |doi=10.1643/CI-13-023 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261175650 |access-date=22 March 2025}} and the same is true for Lophius itself (Males {{Convert|68.50|-|129.50|cm|ft}}; Females {{Convert|93.50|-|166.60|cm|ft}}).

Anglerfish are generally ambush predators, with shallow-water species such as frogfish often camouflaging as rocks, sponges or seaweed.{{Cite journal |last1=Pembury Smith |first1=Matilda Q. R. |last2=Ruxton |first2=Graeme D. |date=2020 |title=Camouflage in predators |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/brv.12612 |journal=Biological Reviews |language=en |volume=95 |issue=5 |pages=1325–1340 |doi=10.1111/brv.12612 |pmid=32410297 |s2cid=218649415 |issn=1464-7931|hdl=10023/19948 |hdl-access=free }} To blend in with the featureless dark depths they inhabit, deep-sea anglerfish are dark colored, with tints ranging from grey to brown.{{Better source needed|date=March 2025|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable (WP:NOTRS); 1911 Britannica and NatGeo are either outdated or overly generalizes anglerfish (the latter is aimed at educating children)}}

In most species, a wide mouth extends all around the anterior (front) circumference of the head, and bands of inwardly inclined teeth line both jaws. The teeth can be depressed (swept back) so as to offer no impediment to prey gliding towards the stomach, but to still prevent its escape.{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Angler|volume=2|page=15}}{{Better source needed|date=March 2025|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable (WP:NOTRS); 1911 Britannica and NatGeo are either outdated or overly generalizes anglerfish (the latter is aimed at educating children)}} Anglerfish are able to distend both their jaw and stomach to enormous size, since their bones are thin and flexible, which allows them to swallow prey up to twice as large as their entire bodies.{{Better source needed|date=March 2025|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable (WP:NOTRS); 1911 Britannica and NatGeo are either outdated or overly generalizes anglerfish (the latter is aimed at educating children)}}

{{Expand section|date=May 2025|these references on illicial muscles: }}

File:Hairy frogfish (Antennarius striatus) (16059517767).jpg (Antennarius striatus), displaying the worm-like esca at the top left]]

All anglerfish are carnivorous and are thus adapted for the capture of prey. A character shared by all anglerfish suborders is the presence of a "lure" or "bait", unambiguously referred to as the esca. The esca is the tip of a fin ray, modified from the anterior (foremost) dorsal fin; this fin-ray is often referred to as the "fishing rod" or "-line" and is scientifically termed the illicium. The entire illicial apparatus consists of the illicial pterygiophore (the "base" of the structure), followed by a second short dorsal spine, and tipped with the bone of the illicium which ends with the esca proper; this appendage may slot into a groove that accommodates part or all of the illicial apparatus.{{rp|33–40}} Both the esca and illicium are used in tandem to lure prey.{{efn|{{cite journal |last=Miya |first=Masaki |author2=Pietsch, Theodore W |author3=Orr, James W |author4=Arnold, Rachel J |author5=Satoh, Takashi P |author6=Shedlock, Andrew M |author7=Ho, Hsuan-Ching |author8=Shimazaki, Mitsuomi |author9=Yabe, Mamoru |author10= Nishida, Mutsumi |title=Evolutionary history of anglerfishes (Teleostei: Lophiiformes): a mitogenomic perspective |journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology |date=1 January 2010 |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=58 |doi=10.1186/1471-2148-10-58 |pmid=20178642 |pmc=2836326 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2010BMCEE..10...58M }}{{cite journal |last1=Derouen |first1=Valerie |last2=Ludt |first2=William B |last3=Ho |first3=Hsuan-Ching |last4=Chakrabarty |first4=Prosanta |title=Examining evolutionary relationships and shifts in depth preferences in batfishes (Lophiiformes: Ogcocephalidae) |journal=Mol Phylogenet Evol |date=March 2015 |volume=84 |pages=27–33 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2014.12.011 |pmid=25554525 |bibcode=2015MolPE..84...27D |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25554525/}}{{cite journal |title=Fish That Fish for Fish-A Peculiar Location of "Fishing Motoneurons" in the Striated Frogfish Antennarius striatus |journal=J Comp Neurol |date=Oct 2024 |volume=532 |issue=10 |doi=10.1002/cne.25674 |pmid=39380323 |last1=Hagio |first1=Hanako |last2=Nishino |first2=Hirotaka |last3=Miyake |first3=Kenta |last4=Sato |first4=Nene |last5=Sawada |first5=Kei |last6=Nakayama |first6=Tomoya |last7=Yamamoto |first7=Naoyuki |pages=e25674 |doi-access=free }}{{cite journal |last1=Last |first1=Peter R |last2=Gledhill |first2=Daniel |title=A revision of the Australian handfishes (Lophiiformes: Brachionichthyidae), with descriptions of three new genera and nine new species |journal=Zootaxa |date=October 2009 |volume=2252 |doi=10.11646/zootaxa.2252.1.1 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237742706 |access-date=24 March 2025}}{{cite web |title=Science > Birds, Reptiles & Other Vertebrates > Fish > anglerfish fish |url=https://www.britannica.com/animal/anglerfish |website=britannica.com |publisher=Britannica |access-date=22 March 2025}}{{cite web |last1=Magbilang |first1=Lila |last2=Olson|first2=Danielle|title=Anglerfish Lure Prey Throughout the Ocean |url=https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/fish/anglerfish-lure-prey-throughout-ocean |website=ocean.si.edu |publisher=Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History |access-date=22 March 2025}}}} The illicium's length is highly variable across species, from not being visible at all in some species, to around 4.9 times SL (over 4 times the length of the rest of the body) in Gigantactis macronema (body length {{convert|354|mm|abbr=on}}).{{rp|469}}{{cite web |title=Genus: Chaunax, Frogmouths, Gaper, Gapers |url=https://biogeodb.stri.si.edu/caribbean/en/thefishes/taxon/5573 |website=biogeodb.stri.si.edu |publisher=Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute |access-date=24 March 2025}}

The illicial apparatus is most notable in the deep-sea anglerfish (Ceratioidei) as their esca contain bioluminescent bacteria, making them glow in the dark waters of the deeper pelagic zones.{{cite web |title=Our Work Pacific Footballfish |url=https://www.calacademy.org/learn-explore/specimens-in-focus/pacific-footballfish |website=calacademy.org |publisher=California Academy of Sciences}}{{Cite journal|last1=Freed|first1=Lindsay L.|last2=Easson|first2=Cole|last3=Baker|first3=Lydia J.|last4=Fenolio|first4=Danté|last5=Sutton|first5=Tracey T.|last6=Khan|first6=Yasmin|last7=Blackwelder|first7=Patricia|last8=Hendry|first8=Tory A.|last9=Lopez|first9=Jose V.|date=2019-10-01|title=Characterization of the microbiome and bioluminescent symbionts across life stages of Ceratioid Anglerfishes of the Gulf of Mexico|url= |journal=FEMS Microbiology Ecology|language=en|volume=95|issue=10|pages=fiz146|doi=10.1093/femsec/fiz146|issn=0168-6496|pmc=6778416|pmid=31504465}}{{Cite journal|last1=Baker|first1=Lydia J.|last2=Freed|first2=Lindsay L.|last3=Easson|first3=Cole G.|last4=Lopez|first4=Jose V.|last5=Fenolio|first5=Danté|last6=Sutton|first6=Tracey T.|last7=Nyholm|first7=Spencer V.|last8=Hendry|first8=Tory A.|date=2019-10-01|title=Diverse deep-sea anglerfishes share a genetically reduced luminous symbiont that is acquired from the environment|journal=eLife|language=en|volume=8|pages=e47606|doi=10.7554/eLife.47606|issn=2050-084X|pmc=6773444|pmid=31571583 |doi-access=free }} In other species the esca possesses different luring mechanisms, such as emitting odoriferous chemicals that attract olfactory-driven prey (batfish, Ogcocephaloidei; possibly sea toads, Chaunacioidei), or by resembling prey attractive to small fish such as shrimp or worms (frogfish, Antennarioidei). When the prey is close enough, the anglerfish catches it using suction feeding, elongated sharp teeth, or both.{{rp|263}} While sometimes reported to possess a bioluminescent esca, sea toads lack bioluminescent bacteria and do not actually possess this feature.{{cite web |last1=Mundy |first1=Bruce |title=The Mysterious Identity of the Bright-Red Sea Toad |url=https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/science-blog/mysterious-identity-bright-red-sea-toad |website=fisheries.noaa.gov |date=6 January 2021 |publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |access-date=22 March 2025}}{{cite web |title=An alluring fish: The deep-sea anglerfish is a couch potato's hero |url=https://annualreport.mbari.org/2021/story/the-deep-sea-anglerfish-is-a-couch-potatos-hero |website=annualreport.mbari.org |access-date=22 March 2025}}

In at least the triplewart seadevil, the illicium is moved back and forth by five distinct pairs of muscles: namely the shorter erector and depressor muscles that dictate movement of the illicial bone, along with inclinator, protractor, and retractor muscles that aid motion of the pterygiophore.{{Cite journal |last1=Shimazaki |first1=Mitsuomi |last2=Nakaya |first2=Kazuhiro |date=2004-02-01 |title=Functional anatomy of the luring apparatus of the deep-sea ceratioid anglerfish Cryptopsaras couesii (Lophiiformes: Ceratiidae) |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-003-0190-6 |journal=Ichthyological Research |language=en |volume=51 |issue=1 |pages=33–37 |doi=10.1007/s10228-003-0190-6 |bibcode=2004IchtR..51...33S |s2cid=21508894 |issn=1616-3915|url-access=subscription }}

{{Expand section|date=May 2025|Merging may be preferrable, but let's see if anyone can save it}}

File:Lophius piscatorius MHNT.jpg: The first spine of the dorsal fin of the anglerfish acts like a fishing rod with a lure.]]

The name "anglerfish" derives from the species' characteristic method of predation. Anglerfish typically have at least one long filament sprouting from the middle of their heads, termed the illicium. The illicium is the detached and modified first three spines of the anterior dorsal fin. In most anglerfish species, the longest filament is the first. This first spine protrudes above the fish's eyes and terminates in an irregular growth of flesh (the esca), and can move in all directions. Anglerfish can wiggle the esca to make it resemble a prey animal, which lures the anglerfish's prey close enough for the anglerfish to devour them whole.{{cite book|last=Smith|first=William John|title=The Behavior of Communicating: an ethological approach|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zu2ML2rigZ4C&pg=PA381|year=2009|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-04379-4|page=381|quote=Others rely on the technique adopted by a wolf in sheep's clothing—they mimic a harmless species. ... Other predators even mimic their prey's prey: anglerfish (Lophiiformes) and alligator snapping turtles Macroclemys temminckii can wriggle fleshy outgrowths of their fins or tongues and attract small predatory fish close to their mouths.}} Some deep-sea anglerfish of the bathypelagic zone also emit light from their esca to attract prey.Piper, Ross (2007). Extraordinary Animals: An Encyclopedia of Curious and Unusual Animals, Greenwood Press.

Because anglerfish are opportunistic foragers, they show a range of preferred prey with fish at the extremes of the size spectrum, whilst showing increased selectivity for certain prey. One study examining the stomach contents of threadfin anglerfish (Lophiodes spilurus) off the Pacific coast of Central America found these fish primarily ate two categories of benthic prey: crustaceans and teleost fish. The most frequent prey were pandalid shrimp. 52% of the stomachs examined were empty, supporting the observations that anglerfish are low energy consumers.{{cite journal|last=Espinoza|first=Mario|author2=Ingo Wehrtmann|title=Stomach content analyses of the threadfin anglerfish Lophiodes spilurus (Lophiiformes: Lophiidae) associated with deepwater shrimp fisheries from the central Pacific of Costa Rica|journal=Revista de Biología Tropical|year=2008|volume=56|issue=4|series=4|pages=1959–70|url=http://www.scielo.sa.cr/scielo.php?pid=S0034-77442008000400029&script=sci_arttext&tlng=pt|access-date=4 October 2013|doi=10.15517/rbt.v56i4.5772|pmid=19419094|doi-access=free}}

{{Cite journal |last1=Yasugi |first1=Masaki |last2=Hori |first2=Michio |date=June 2016 |title=Predominance of parallel- and cross-predation in anglerfish |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/maec.12309 |journal=Marine Ecology |language=en |volume=37 |issue=3 |pages=576–587 |doi=10.1111/maec.12309|bibcode=2016MarEc..37..576Y |url-access=subscription }}

File:Red-lipped Bat fish.jpg "standing" on the benthos]]

All anglerfish are weak swimmers, including the pelagic deep-sea anglerfish. Demersal species often "walk" on the bottom upon their pectoral and pelvic fins. The pelvic fins were lost in the deep-sea anglers.

The deep-sea anglers often drift without actively swimming; In situ observation of female Oneirodes and whipnose anglerfish (from ROVs) recorded that they often passively float in place or in a current, but they were sometimes observed to attempt to flee from the ROV, beating its pectoral fins in-phase while undulating its tail fin. The lethargic behavior of these ambush predators are suited to the energy-poor environment of the deep sea.{{cite journal|last=Luck|first=Daniel Garcia|author2=Pietsch, Theodore W.|title=Observations of a Deep-sea Ceratioid Anglerfish of the Genus Oneirodes (Lophiiformes: Oneirodidae)|journal=Copeia|date=4 June 2008|volume=2008|issue=2|pages=446–451|doi=10.1643/CE-07-075|s2cid=55297852}}{{cite journal|last=Moore|first=Jon A.|title=Upside-Down Swimming Behavior in a Whipnose Anglerfish (Teleostei: Ceratioidei: Gigantactinidae)|journal=Copeia|date=31 December 2001|volume=2002|issue=4|series=4|pages=1144–1146|jstor=1448539|doi=10.1643/0045-8511(2002)002[1144:udsbia]2.0.co;2|s2cid=85724627 }}

The jaw and stomach of the anglerfish can extend to allow it to consume prey up to twice its size. Because of the limited amount of food available in the anglerfish's environment, this adaptation allows the anglerfish to store food when there is an abundance.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025|reason=Previous citation 404'd}}

The sea toad Chaunax endeavouri has been observed to retain water in its gills for at least around 26 seconds and up to 4 minutes in some cases. This behavior is thought to be an energy-saving measure as respiration requires energy, thus the fish "holding its breath" may conserve enough energy for such a behavior to be beneficial.{{cite web |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/coffinfish-can-hold-their-breath-four-minutes-180972529/ |title=Coffinfish Can Hold Their Breath for Up to Four Minutes on the Ocean Floor |author=Meilan Solly |date=1 July 2019 |access-date=22 March 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Magazine}}

{{Expand section|date=May 2025|information on frogfish and batfish spawning}}

File:Hamol u0.gif: Haplophryne mollis female anglerfish with males attached]]

The deep-sea anglerfish employ an unusual mating method: because individuals are locally rare, encounters between two of the same species are also very rare, and finding a mate can be problematic; this has led to the development of sexual parasitism in anglerfish, where the males latch onto their mates using their mouths, which may not be suitable or effective for prey capture.{{cite journal|last=Pietsch|first=Theodore W.|title=A Review of the Monotypic Deep-Sea Anglerfish Family Centrophrynidae: Taxonomy, Distribution and Osteology|journal=Copeia|date=8 March 1972|volume=1972|issue= 1|pages=17–47|jstor=1442779|doi=10.2307/1442779}}{{Cite journal |last=Isakov |first=Noah |date=2022 |title=Histocompatibility and Reproduction: Lessons from the Anglerfish |journal=Life |language=en |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=113 |doi=10.3390/life12010113 |issn=2075-1729 |pmc=8780861 |pmid=35054506 |bibcode=2022Life...12..113I |doi-access=free }} When scientists first started capturing ceratioid anglerfish, they noticed that all of the specimens were female, and on some of these they had what appeared to be parasites attached to them, which turned out to be highly dimorphic male ceratioids. This is one of the few instances of naturally occurring parabiosis. In some species of anglerfish, fusion between male and female when reproducing is possible due to the lack of immune system keys that allow antibodies to mature and create receptors for T-cells.[https://www.washington.edu/news/2020/07/30/deep-sea-anglerfishes-have-evolved-a-new-type-of-immune-system/ Deep-sea anglerfishes have evolved a new type of immune system]

{{Further|Ceratioidei#Sexual parasitism}}

The spawn of all anglerfish are enveloped by a gelatinous sheath, which has multiple terms referring to it. The spawn of the Lophius anglerfish consists of a thin sheet of transparent gelatinous material {{convert|25|cm|0|abbr=on}} wide and may be longer than {{convert|10|m|abbr=on}}; this "egg mass" may contain over a million eggs.Prince, E. E. 1891. Notes on the development of the angler-fish (Lophius piscatorius). Ninth Annual Report of the Fishery Board for Scotland (1890), Part III: 343–348. The eggs in this sheet are in a single layer, each in its own cavity. The larvae are pelagic and have the pelvic fins elongated into filaments. It is thought that these egg masses effectively disperse their young over great distances and a large area. A {{convert|77|mm|in|}} female Linophryne arborifera, with a {{convert|15|mm|in|}} parasitic male, was observed to have numerous eggs embedded in a gelatinous mass (the "egg raft" or "veil") protruding from the genital opening; the eggs, 0.6–0.8mm in diameter, are among the largest known for any ceratioid.{{cite journal |last1=Bertelsen |first1=E |title=Notes on Linophrynidae 5: a revision of the deepsea anglerfishes of the Linophryne arborifera-group (Pisces, Ceratoidei) |journal=Steenstrupia |date=1980 |volume=6 |issue=6 |pages=29–70 |issn=0375-2909|url=https://eurekamag.com/research/021/437/021437497.php |access-date=2 March 2025}}

In the History of Animals, Aristotle described the "Fishing-Frog" (one of the local Lophius species, like L. piscatorius or L. budegassa) as an example of a marine species well adapted to their environment, those equipped with "ingenious devices" that it uses to capture prey, alongside the Torpedo. He noted that fishing-frogs that have lost their lure appeared to be thinner than those still intact.{{cite web |last1=Thompson |first1=D'Arcy Wentworth (transl.) |title=Part 37 of The History of Animals By Aristotle |url=https://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/history_anim.9.ix.html |website=classics.mit.edu |publisher=MIT |access-date=15 May 2025}}{{cite web |title=The History of Animals Aristotle |url=https://trisagionseraph.tripod.com/Texts/History1.html |website=trisagionseraph.tripod.com |access-date=15 May 2025}}

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Lophiidae, marketed as monkfish or goosefish, are of commercial interest with fisheries found in western Europe, eastern North America, Africa, and East Asia. In Europe and North America, the tail meat of fish of the genus Lophius, known as monkfish or goosefish (North America), is widely used in cooking, and is often compared to lobster tail in taste and texture.

In Africa, the countries of Namibia and the Republic of South Africa record the highest catches.{{Cite journal |last1=Fariña |first1=A. C |last2=Azevedo |first2=M |last3=Landa |first3=J |last4=Duarte |first4=R |last5=Sampedro |first5=P |last6=Costas |first6=G |last7=Torres |first7=M. A |last8=Cañás |first8=L |date=October 2008 |title=Lophius in the world: a synthesis on the common features and life strategies |journal=ICES Journal of Marine Science |volume=65 |issue=7 |pages=1272–1280 |doi=10.1093/icesjms/fsn140 |doi-access=free }} In Asia, especially Japan, monkfish liver, known as ankimo, is considered a delicacy.{{Cite web |publisher=CNN Travel |date=2017-07-12 |title=The world's 50 best foods |url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/world-best-food-dishes/index.html |access-date=2023-03-27 |website=CNN |language=en}} Anglerfish is especially heavily consumed in South Korea, where it is featured as the main ingredient in dishes such as Agujjim.

Northwest European Lophius species are heavily fished and are listed by the ICES as "outside safe biological limits".{{cite book |title=The End of the Line: How overfishing is changing the world and what we eat |last=Clover |first=Charles |year=2004 |publisher=Ebury Press |location=London |isbn=978-0-09-189780-2 }} In 2010, Greenpeace International added the American angler (Lophius americanus), the angler (Lophius piscatorius), and the black-bellied angler (Lophius budegassa) to its seafood red list—a list of fish commonly sold worldwide with a high likelihood of being sourced from unsustainable fisheries.[https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/oceans/sustainable-seafood/red-list-fish/ Greenpeace sea-food red list]{{Cite book |last=Pietsch |first=Theodore W. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1298208235 |title=Oceanic anglerfishes: extraordinary diversity in the deep sea |date=2009 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-94255-4 |location=Berkeley |oclc=1298208235}} Additionally, anglerfish are known to occasionally rise to the surface during El Niño, leaving large groups of dead anglerfish floating on the surface.{{Relevant-inline|date=May 2025}}

File:20220619 frogfish Antennarius biocellatus joseph stansbury rosin 02.png]]

Various species of anglerfish are kept in captivity, such as frogfish and batfish,{{cite web |title=Frogfish Antennariidae Lophiiformes |url=https://www.aquariumofpacific.org/onlinelearningcenter/species/frogfish |website=aquariumofpacific.org |publisher=Aquarium of the Pacific |access-date=15 May 2025}}{{cite book |last1=Christie |first1=Barrett L. |last2=Montoya |first2=P. Zelda |last3=Torres |first3=Lyssa A. |last4=Foster IV |first4=John W. |chapter=THE NATURAL HISTORY AND HUSBANDRY OF THE WALKING BATFISHES (LOPHIIFORMES: OGCOCEPHALIDAE) |title=Drum and Croaker |date=2016 |volume=47 |pages=7–40 |url=https://www.academia.edu/23136399 |access-date=15 May 2025}} though these are all species that inhabit shallow waters; deep-sea anglerfish have not been kept in captivity due to the challenges of keeping them alive through capture, transport, and a display that can repressurize them.{{cite web |title=Deep-sea anglerfish Order Lophiiformes |url=https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/animals-a-to-z/deep-sea-anglerfish/ |website=montereybayaquarium.org |publisher=Monterey Bay Aquarium |access-date=15 May 2025}}{{cite web |title=Black seadevil anglerfish Melanocetus johnsonii |url=https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/animals-a-to-z/black-seadevil-anglerfish |website=montereybayaquarium.org |publisher=Monterey Bay Aquarium |access-date=15 May 2025}}{{cite web |title=Fanfin anglerfish Caulophryne sp |url=https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/animals-a-to-z/fanfin-anglerfish |website=montereybayaquarium.org |publisher=Monterey Bay Aquarium |access-date=15 May 2025}}

Antennarius biocellatus is known by the common names brackish-water frogfish or freshwater frogfish; being euryhaline, it can live in freshwater for some time,{{cite iucn |author=Leander, N.J.S. |author2=Torres, A.G. |author3=Capuli, E. |year=2022 |title=Antennarius biocellatus |page=e.T196304A2443685 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T196304A2443685.en |access-date=27 March 2024}}{{cite journal |author1=Andréfouët, Serge|author2=Chen, Wei-Jen|author3=Kinch, Jeff|author4=Mana, Ralph|author5=Russell, Barry C.|author6=Tully, Dean|author7=White, William T.|title=Antennarius biocellatus |url=https://zenodo.org/records/10447059 |website=zenodo.org |date=2019 |doi=10.5281/zenodo.10447059 |access-date=15 May 2025}} sometimes claimed to be the sole representative of the anglerfish to live in freshwater.{{cite web |title=Freshwater Frogfish (Antennarius biocellatus) |url=https://www.aqua-imports.com/product/freshwater-frogfish/ |website=aqua-imports.com |publisher=Aqua-Imports |access-date=15 May 2025}} Like many frogfish, it has been displayed in public aquaria,{{cite web |url=https://churaumi.okinawa/topics/1659429335/ |title=やんばるの川に棲む珍魚 日本初記録種「ピエロカエルアンコウ」展示|language=Japanese|website=churaumi.okinawa |publisher=Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium |access-date=15 May 2025}}{{cite web |last1=Zubi |first1=Teresa |title=Antennarius biocellatus (Cuvier, 1817) |url=https://frogfish.ch/species-arten/Antennarius-biocellatus.html |website=frogfish.ch |access-date=15 May 2025}} though unlike the other species A. biocellatus are sometimes kept in home aquaria by private aquarists.{{cite web |title=Search Results for: antennarius biocellatus |url=https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=antennarius+biocellatus |website=youtube.com |publisher=YouTube |access-date=15 May 2025}}

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist|26em}}

• Anderson, M. Eric, and Leslie, Robin W. 2001. [http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1019903 Review of the deep-sea anglerfishes (Lophiiformes: Ceratioidei) of southern Africa.] Ichthyological Bulletin of the J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology; No. 70. J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology, Rhodes University

{{Commons category|Lophioidei}}

{{ external media

| float = right

| width = 260px

| video1 = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUVerZsbYiw Weird Killer of the Deep] – YouTube

| video2 = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqPMP9X-89o The anglerfish: The original approach to deep-sea fishing] – YouTube

| video3 = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW93uB5fDLQ 3D scans reveal deep-sea anglerfish's huge final meal] – YouTube

}}

• [http://tolweb.org/Lophiiformes Tree of Life web project: Lophiiformes]
• {{youTube|id=anDIlMVgNwk|title=Video (02:37) – Anglerfish mating}}
• Lu, D. Anglerfish immune system lets them fuse with their mate. New Scientist 247, 19 (2020).

{{Actinopterygii}}

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Category:Bioluminescent fish

Category:Articles which contain graphical timelines

Category:Extant Early Cretaceous first appearances

Category:Taxa named by Samuel Garman