The Humpback Anglerfish is an angry-looking species that live in deep sea. It is also one of the ugliest animals on earth. More than 200 species of Anglerfish have been identified and most of the species are found in the depths of Atlantic and Antarctic oceans. Generally, Anglerfish species are gray to dark brown in color. They have large sized head and big crescent-shaped mouth full of sharp teeth which are translucent. Most of the Anglerfish species are less than a foot long while a few are as long as 1 meter. The male Anglerfish is smaller than the female and the female fish has a piece of dorsal spine protruding above its mouth. With the big mouth and the flexible body, the Anglerfish swallows prey which is twice to its size.
Here are the most interesting facts about the Humpback Anglerfish:
(1) The Humpback Anglerfish is one among the six species belonging to the Black Sea Devil family. This species was first identified by the English naturalist James Yates Johnson and hence the fish is given the scientific name Melanocetus Johnsonii.
(2) The female Humpback Anglerfish is bigger than its male counterpart. The largest female Humpback Anglerfish is about 18cm long and the largest female will be less than 3cm long.
(3) Because of its peculiar body shape, the Humpback Anglerfish cannot swim fast. The tip of the protruding piece of spine from the head of the Humpback Anglerfish is called esca. The Anglerfish attracts its prey with the bioluminescence of the esca which is produced by symbiotic bacteria. When the surroundings are dark, the glowing esca attracts the prey.
(4) The Humpback Anglerfish impales its prey using its sharp teeth. The mouth is enormously large and the lower jaw can be brought downwards enabling the Anglerfish to capture the preys that are of larger size than the Anglerfish itself.
(5) The lateral line of the Humpback Anglerfish will sense the pressure and movements in the surroundings. The dots that are found on the face of the Anglerfish are part of the lateral line and they are the organs that sense the movements in water.
(6) The population of Humpback Anglerfish is distributed widely and as a result they are captured the most. Humpback Anglerfish is found in almost all oceans.
(7) Humpback Anglerfish is a well-known species that live in deep sea and these fishes appear very bizarre.
(8) The round body of the Anglerfish makes it easy for the fish to swallow the prey.
(9) Though the Humpback Anglerfish look ferocious it is small in size and it will have maximum length of 12cm.
(10) The Anglerfish has soft bones and flesh and its eye are small.
(11) Since the Humpback Anglerfish is a bioluminescent animal, it emits blue light and as a result it is almost invisible to the other creatures that live in deep sea.
(12) The wide and round body of the Anglerfish makes it difficult for the fish to swim in water and instead of swimming it wobbles in the water.
(13) While hunting the prey, the Humpback Anglerfish effectively prevents the prey from escaping with the help of the sharp teeth that are angled inwards.
(14) The female Anglerfish will lay eggs on a sheet of gelatinous material. The sheet floats on water and the eggs will hatch to larvae. The larvae are fed on plankton and when they mature they returns to deep sea.
(15) The Humpback Anglerfish is found in the oceans at depths not less than 3000 feet and at that level of the deep sea it is completely dark and the water is close to freezing temperature.
(16) The Humpback Anglerfish is a very unique variety of fish and its fierce appearance makes it noticeable.
(17) With its dark brown color, the large head and very large teeth, the Anglerfish has a frightening appearance. There are only few creatures in the sea that look so dreadful.
(18) Since the Anglerfish has large head its mouth is also large and the mouth is crescent shaped and filled with large teeth.
(19) The translucent teeth of the Humpback Anglerfish is very sharp and the teeth will have maximum length of 3 ½ feet.
(20) The female Anglerfish is more dominant. Besides being smaller than the females, the male Anglerfish cannot hunt its prey as ferociously as the female Anglerfish.