Page 193 - Atlas Of The World's Strangest Animals

ANGLERFISH 193

Lying motionless and almost invisible, this predator has learnt The hungry angler simply lies in wait for prey to pass by, using
that camouflage can be just as useful as speed and power. his lure to attract their interest.

It’s a winning technique.As this small fish moves closer, he has Too late! The vast, gaping mouth of the anglerfish is already
no idea that danger lurks just beneath the sand. sucking in its unsuspecting victim.

piscatorius is one of the most widely known.These surroundings. It doesn’t matter if they have a long wait
voracious predators are found in the central and north- because such a sedentary life means they need very little
eastern Atlantic as well as the Mediterranean Sea.They live food to fuel their bodies.They’re not fussy eaters, either.
mainly in sub-littoral waters – from the high-water mark Small fish are their usual prey, but one angler was found
to areas of permanently submerged shoreline.Typically dead, having choked on a seagull, so presumably they’ll
they are found at depths of between 2m and 500m tackle almost anything that passes their way!
(6.6–1640ft), although they often move into deeper waters Being so well camouflaged means that these fabulously
during the spawning season. odd fish have little to fear from predators – apart from man.
While many fish spend their lives endlessly on the prowl They’ve been eaten in the Mediterranean for centuries and
for prey, anglerfish have a more casual approach to are popular in British fish and chip shops, although often
catching food.They settle on the sea bed, using their fins only the fleshy tail (known as ‘poor man’s lobster’) is
to flick sand and bits of debris over their bodies.A border consumed. Confusingly, in Britain, these large-mouthed
of fringed lobes, which look like bits of seaweed, surround predators are usually called monkfish. Other sources call
their head and body, helping them to blend in with their them common goosefish, frog-fish or sea-devils.

(c) 2011 Marshall Cavendish. All Rights Reserved.