Humpback anglerfish

Indeed, Nemo and Dory, attracted by the anglerfish's bioluminescent lure, almost get caught by the fish's large teeth.

With sharp teeth, a lure on its head to catch its prey, a large mouth but a small body, the humpback anglerfish Melanocetus johnsonii is a fish of the Melanocetidae family, with a terrifying and distinctive appearance, which can be found at depths of between 100 and 4,500 metres in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans.

Females and males are very different from each other. The female is about 20 cm long, while the male is only 3 cm long.

The male has the particularity of attaching itself to the female and never detaching from her. It fuses with the female and eventually becomes part of her. The male with the atrophied body is only used for reproduction, this behaviour is called sexual parasitism.

Other deep-sea fish have similar characteristics: large teeth and a small body, the common fangtooth Anoplogaster cornuta cannot close its mouth! The fanfin angler Caulophryne jordani hunts by lying in wait and uses the filaments covering its body to detect movement.

Did you know? In the 1990s, a fishing vessel from Boulogne came to Nausicaá with a female of the Ceratias holboelli species caught in the North Atlantic and measuring more than 40 cm. Females of this species, measuring 120 cm in length, have already been observed. This specimen has been naturalized by the French National Museum of Natural History and is regularly presented during the activities of the Mediation department. It is quite photogenic!

The humpback anglerfish must not be confused with the European angler Lophius piscatorius that is found along the coasts of Europe and in the Mediterranean at a depth of between 20 and 1,000 metres and that winds up on our plates under the name of monkfish tail!

In the 1990s, a fishing vessel from Boulogne came to Nausicaá with a female of the Ceratias holboelli species caught in the North Atlantic and measuring more than 40 cm. Females of this species, measuring 120 cm in length, have already been observed. This specimen has been naturalized by the French National Museum of Natural History and is regularly presented during the activities of the Mediation department. It is quite photogenic!

The humpback anglerfish must not be confused with the European angler Lophius piscatorius that is found along the coasts of Europe and in the Mediterranean at a depth of between 20 and 1,000 metres and that winds up on our plates under the name of monkfish tail!

If you would like to create your own anglerfish, Nausicaa has a fun activity for you: create your own hat in the shape of an anglerfish!

Follow the tutorial!