Lophius americanus

Last updated

Lophius americanus
Temporal range: Pliocene-Recent, 5.3–0  Ma
Lophius americanus.jpg
Lophius-americanus-aquarium.jpg
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Lophiiformes
Family: Lophiidae
Genus: Lophius
Species:
L. americanus
Binomial name
Lophius americanus

Lophius americanus is a goosefish in the family Lophiidae, also called all-mouth, American anglerfish, American monkfish, bellows-fish, devil-fish, headfish, molligut, satchel-mouth, or wide-gape. It is native to the eastern coast of North America.

Contents

Description

The American anglerfish is unique in its appearance and has no relatives with which it can be confused in the areas where it is caught. A fish of lesser importance than other food fish in the region, such as cod, its various names suggest its unusual appearance - a very large mouth, more than twice the width of the tail, with several spines and strong teeth, enabling it to snare prey larger than itself. The body is flattened dorsoventrally to allow it to hide on the sea floor. The front of the head carries erectile spines, the primary of which has a flattened end to resemble a small organism or piece of algae. The pectoral fins are like wide fans behind the head, and the pelvic fins are like small hands below the head.

The American anglerfish can grow to a length of 140 cm (55 in), but 100 cm (39 in) is a more usual size. The greatest recorded weight is 22.6 kg (50 lb) and the greatest recorded age is 30 years. [3]

Distribution and habitat

The American anglerfish is found in the western Atlantic from Newfoundland and Quebec south to northern Florida, but is commoner in the more northerly parts of its range, north of Cape Hatteras. It is a demersal fish living close to the seabed at depths down to about 2,000 feet (610 m). [3] It is found on sand bottoms, gravel, shell fragments, mud and clay. [4]

Behaviour

Skeleton AmericanAngler.jpg
Skeleton
Various sizes of Lophius americanus Different size monkfish.jpg
Various sizes of Lophius americanus

Feeding

The American anglerfish is an ambush predator. It spends most of its time on the seabed partly covered in sediment waiting for suitable prey to pass. It can swim slowly or "walk" with the help of its pectoral fins. Its diet normally consists of fin and ray fish, squids, cuttlefish and occasionally carrion. [4] After storms it has been reported on the sea surface where it has been recorded as catching seabirds. [5]

Breeding and lifecycle

Spawning takes place in the summer with a peak in May and June. The eggs are large and are believed to be unique among fish in being attached to a floating mucus veil. The number of eggs in a veil can range from 1 to 3 million and the veil drifts on the surface of the sea. The eggs hatch after 6 to 100 days, depending on the sea temperature, and remain protected within the veil for a few days, absorbing nutrients from their yolk sacs. They then become pelagic and join other fish larvae in the "ichthyoplankton community". The larvae feed on zooplankton and look quite different from the adult fish, being laterally compressed and having long dorsal and pectoral fin rays. When about 7 centimetres (2.8 in) long they become juveniles, changing their appearance over a period of several weeks into the adult shape and starting to live on the seabed. They grow fast in their first year and more slowly thereafter. [4]

Food use

The flesh of the anglerfish is located primarily in the body, less so in the "shoulders" and cheeks. The flesh is very white and moist, becoming quite firm when cooked. It is served both in soups and grilled, and is similar in texture to the flesh of crustaceans. Fillets are thick and boneless resembling crab or lobster tail. Connoisseurs believe the liver is also excellent. The fish is covered with a soft, scaleless, elastic skin, under which another thin edible membrane covers the flesh. Though much less so than in cod, one can sometimes find parasitic worms in the flesh of anglerfish, whose opacity can make them easier to find. Worms are usually found between the skin and outer portion of the flesh ranging in size from a few millimeters to over one inch.

Notes

  1. "Lophius americanus Goosefish". NatureServe. 1 January 1997. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  2. Bailly, Nicolas (2010). "Lophius americanus Valenciennes, 1837". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 2012-01-06.
  3. 1 2 Lophius americanus Valenciennes, 1837 Archived 2014-04-08 at the Wayback Machine FishBase. Retrieved 2012-01-06.
  4. 1 2 3 Essential Fish Habitat Source Document: Goosefish, Lophius americanus, Life History and Habitat Characteristics (PDF) (Report). US Department of Commerce: National Marine Fisheries Service. September 1999. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 8, 2008.
  5. Bigelow, H.B. and W.C. Schroeder (1953). "Fishes of the Gulf of Maine". Fishery Bulletin. 53. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: 1–577.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black sea bass</span> Species of fish

The black sea bass is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sea bass from the subfamily Serraninae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the groupers and anthias. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean, where it is an important species for commercial and recreational fisheries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teleost</span> Infraclass of fishes

Teleostei, members of which are known as teleosts, is, by far, the largest infraclass in the class Actinopterygii, the ray-finned fishes, and contains 96% of all extant species of fish. Teleosts are arranged into about 40 orders and 448 families. Over 26,000 species have been described. Teleosts range from giant oarfish measuring 7.6 m (25 ft) or more, and ocean sunfish weighing over 2 t, to the minute male anglerfish Photocorynus spiniceps, just 6.2 mm (0.24 in) long. Including not only torpedo-shaped fish built for speed, teleosts can be flattened vertically or horizontally, be elongated cylinders or take specialised shapes as in anglerfish and seahorses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goosefish</span> Family of fishes

Goosefishes, sometimes called anglers or monkfishes, are a family, the Lophiidae, of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Lophiiformes, the anglerfishes. These fishes are found in all the world's oceans except for the Antarctic Ocean.

<i>Lophius piscatorius</i> Species of fish

Lophius piscatorius, commonly known as the angler, European angler or common monkfish, is a monkfish in the family Lophiidae. It is found in coastal waters of the northeast Atlantic, from the Barents Sea to the Strait of Gibraltar, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Within some of its range, including the Irish Sea, this species comprises a significant commercial fishery.

<i>Lophius</i> Genus of fishes

Members of the genus Lophius, also sometimes called monkfish, fishing-frogs, frog-fish, and sea-devils, are various species of lophiid anglerfishes found in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Lophius is known as the "monk" or "monkfish" to the North Sea and North Atlantic fishermen, a name which also belongs to Squatina squatina, the angelshark, a type of shark. The North European species is Lophius piscatorius, and the Mediterranean species is Lophius budegassa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frogfish</span> Family of fishes

Frogfishes are any member of the anglerfish family Antennariidae, of the order Lophiiformes. Antennariids are known as anglerfish in Australia, where the term "frogfish" refers to members of the unrelated family Batrachoididae. Frogfishes are found in almost all tropical and subtropical oceans and seas around the world, the primary exception being the Mediterranean Sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grey triggerfish</span> Species of fish

The grey triggerfish, or gray triggerfish, is a species of ray-finned fish in the triggerfish family. The species is native to shallow parts of the western Atlantic from Nova Scotia to Argentina and also the eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea and off Angola on the west coast of Africa.

<i>Mullus barbatus</i> Species of fish

Mullus barbatus is a species of goatfish found in the Mediterranean Sea, Sea of Marmara, the Black Sea and the eastern North Atlantic Ocean, where its range extends from Scandinavia to Senegal. They are fished, mostly by trawling, with the flesh being well regarded. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed their conservation status as being of "least concern".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anglerfish</span> Bony fish of the teleost order Lophiiformes

The anglerfish are fish of the teleost order Lophiiformes. They are bony fish named for their characteristic mode of predation, in which a modified luminescent fin ray acts as a lure for other fish. The luminescence comes from symbiotic bacteria, which are thought to be acquired from seawater, that dwell in and around the sea.

<i>Histiophryne</i> Genus of fishes

Histiophryne is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the subfamily Histiophryninae in the family Antennariidae, the frogfishes. These fishes are found in waters ranging from Taiwan to South Australia. There are currently five known species. These fishes are easily distinguished from other anglerfishes as having a reduced luring appendage, a highly evolved form of the first dorsal fin spine.

<i>Sladenia shaefersi</i> Species of fish

Sladenia shaefersi, the Atlantic twospine goosefish or Shaefer's anglerfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Lophiidae, the goosefishes, monkfishes and anglers. This species is found in the western Atlantic Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common dragonet</span> Species of fish

The common dragonet is a species of dragonet which is widely distributed in the eastern North Atlantic where it is common near Europe from Norway and Iceland southwards. It is a demersal species that occurs over sand bottoms. It lives to a maximum age of around seven years. It is caught in bycatch by fisheries and is used in the aquarium trade.

<i>Inimicus filamentosus</i> Species of fish

Inimicus filamentosus, also known as the filament-finned stinger, barred ghoul, two-stick stingfish, or devil scorpionfish, is a member of the Inimicus genus of venomous fishes. It is a member of the Synanceiidae family of the Scorpaeniformes order of ray-finned fishes. These benthic fishes are found on sandy or silty substrates of lagoon and seaward reefs, in coastal regions of tropical oceans. Like all the other known species of Inimicus, I. filamentosus is a demersal ambush predator. They are nocturnal, and often dig themselves partially into the sandy seabed during the day.

Lophiomus is a monospecific genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family, Lophiidae, the goose fishes, monkfishes or anglers. The only species in the genus is Lophiomus setigerus, the blackmouth angler, blackmouth goosefish, broadheaded angler or broadhead goosefish. This fish is found in the Indo-Pacific.

<i>Ogcocephalus radiatus</i> Species of fish

Ogcocephalus radiatus or the polka-dot batfish is an arrow-shaped fish in the family Ogcocephalidae with an elongated thin tail. It is dorso-ventrally flattened with round pectoral fins that sit flat on the bottom of the sea floor. It uses its pectoral fins and pelvic fins to "walk" along the bottom in a side-to-side shuffling motion.

<i>Lophius budegassa</i> Species of fish

Lophius budegassa, the blackbellied angler or blackbellied monkfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Lophiidae, the goosefishes, monkfishes and anglers. This species is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

<i>Lophiodes beroe</i> Species of fish

Lophiodes beroe, the white goosefish or white anglerfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Lophiidae, the goosefishes, monkfishes or anglers. This species is found in deep waters in the western Atlantic Ocean.

<i>Rhycherus filamentosus</i> Species of fish

Rhycherus filamentosus, commonly known as the tasselled anglerfish, is a species of frogfish endemic to southern Australia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean and southeastern Indian Ocean. It is a well-camouflaged predator and lies in wait on the seabed for unwary prey to approach too close.

<i>Abantennarius rosaceus</i> Species of fish

Abantennarius rosaceus, the rosy frogfish, rosy anglerfish, pink anglerfish or spiny tufted frogfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Antennariidae, the frogfishes. The rosy frogfish is found in the Indo-Pacific region.

<i>Lophius vomerinus</i> Species of marine ray-finned fish

Lophius vomerinus, the devil anglerfish, Cape monk or Cape monkfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Lophiidae, the goosefishes, monkfishes or anglerfishes. This species is endemic to the waters of the southeastern Atlantic and southwestern Indian Oceans around Southern Africa.

References