Order Lophiiformes
(Anglerfish)
(Anglerfish)
All Anglerfish use their first dorsal fin as a lure to attract prey. The lure comprises of the rod (illicium) and the bait (esca) which they can pull forward in front of their body and move in order to mimic worms or fish to attract prey.
Within less than a second they can capture their prey, swallowing it whole and can expand their stomach as necessary.
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Most anglerfish that are seen in movies and games are the deep sea variants who are often depicted as evil fish that lure unsuspecting fish into their jaws by their lit up lures – for example in one of my favourite movies ‘Finding Nemo’ by Pixar, shown here. But in Sydney, they are anything but scary and evil - they are super cute!
Some species of Anglerfish have males that attach themselves to the females, much like a parasite, so that they can reproduce when convenient. |
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