Species group · Bony fish

Anglers

WAnimals has 3 species of angler, spread across 3 families (Antennariidae, Lophiidae, Melanocetidae).

3 species

3 families

171 countries

62 parks

Ranges calculated from the entries that record the figure, not from all 3.

All 3 species of anglers on WAnimals

Each one has its own full entry. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.

Black Angler

Antennarius pictus

Angler

Lophius piscatorius

Humpback Anglerfish

Melanocetus johnsonii

3 Least Concern

No species documented in this group is genuinely at risk according to the IUCN, with the data available today.

Recorded in 171 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:

Its strike is the fastest documented in any fish: it opens its mouth and sucks in the prey in about six thousandths of a second, a movement impossible to see with the naked eye.
From Black Angler
It walks over the bottom on its pectoral and pelvic fins, which are modified into jointed, leg-like limbs.
From Black Angler
It can swallow prey twice its own size thanks to an extremely distensible stomach, and it is not unusual for it to devour another frogfish.
From Black Angler
The first ray of its dorsal fin has become a rod with a fleshy lure at the tip, the illicium, which it waves to mimic a small animal.
From Angler
It engulfs its prey by opening its mouth all at once: the water rushes in so fast that it drags the prey inside before it can react.
From Angler
It can swallow prey almost as large as itself, and diving seabirds have been found in its stomach.
From Angler
The males, far smaller than the females, fuse to them physically and share their circulation for the rest of their lives.
From Humpback Anglerfish
The female fishes with a glowing lure; the male is a tenth her size and does not hunt.
From Humpback Anglerfish