Lophius piscatorius
Lophius piscatorius | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Lophiiformes |
Family: | Lophiidae |
Genus: | Lophius |
Species: | L. piscatorius
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Binomial name | |
Lophius piscatorius | |
Synonyms | |
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Lophius piscatorius, commonly known as the angler, European angler or common monkfish, is a
Taxonomy
Lophius piscatorius was first formally
Etymology
Lophius piscatorius has the genus name Lophius which means "mane" and is presumably a reference to the first three spines of the first dorsal fin which are tentacle like, with three smaller spines behind them. The
Description
The average size of European anglers is 40–60 centimetres (16–24 in), with larger specimens exceeding this range. Precise ranges in body size tend to vary between different localities and populations. Average size also tends to increase with depth; populations living in deeper waters are larger-bodied overall than shallow-water ones.[7]
It has a very large head which is broad, flat, and depressed; the rest of the body appears to be a mere appendage. The wide mouth extends all the way around the anterior circumference of the head, and both jaws are armed with bands of long, pointed
The
The ovaries of female anglers take the form of two long, ribbon-like lobes connected at their posterior ends. One side consists of an egg-producing layer, while the other produces a gelatinous secretion that fills the ovarian lumen during egg maturation. During the reproductive season, the ovaries swell until they fill the abdominal cavity. Male testes are elongated and bean-shaped in cross-section. Spermatogenesis begins in sac-like cysts and is completed in the lumina.[9]
Habitat
The European angler inhabits muddy and sandy bottoms up to depths of 1,000 metres (3,300 ft). It is occasionally found on rocky bottoms as well.
Behaviour
Feeding
The fish has long filaments along the middle of its head, which are, in fact, the detached and modified three first spines of the anterior dorsal fin. The filament most important to the angler is the first, which is the longest, terminates in a lappet, and is movable in every direction. The angler is believed to attract other fish by means of its lure, and then to seize them with its enormous jaws. While it is considered probable that smaller fish are attracted in this way experiments have shown that the actions of the jaw is automatic and depends on the contact of the prey with the tentacle. Its stomach is expandable and it is not unheard of for these fish to swallow prey of their own size.[8]
Adult anglers feed primarily on fish, while juveniles prey mainly on marine invertebrates.
Breeding and lifecycle
The spawn of the angler consists of a thin sheet of transparent gelatinous material 60 to 90 cm (2 to 3 ft) wide and 7.5–9 m (25–30 ft) long drifting freely in the water. The eggs in this sheet are in a single layer, each in its own little cavity. The larvae are free-swimming and their pelvic fins are elongated into filaments.[8] As many as 300,000 to 2,800,000 eggs may be released in a single spawning.[11] The egg sheets are buoyant and float near the surface of the water, where the action of wind and surface currents may aid dispersal.[9]
A male angler matures at the age of four years and grows to be 40 cm (16 in) long; whereas the female angler takes two years longer to mature.[14]
The primary spawning season is distributed between February and June, peaking in spring. A secondary spawning season occurs in November and December, although with a lower percentage of actively reproducing individuals than observed in the primary season.[9]
Relationship with humans
Lophius piscatorius has historically been considered valuable bycatch in Atlantic fisheries. Captures increased significantly following the development of improvements in deep-water fishing technology. The species has been an important fishery resource in Iberian waters since the 1980s. The related species Lophius budegassa is often caught alongside it, but L. piscatorius is the more abundant of the two.[12]
References
- . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ C.Michael Hogan. (2011). Irish Sea. eds. P. Saundry & C.Cleveland. Encyclopedia of Earth. National Council for Science and the Environment. Washington DC Retrieved 11 April 2017.
- ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Lophius". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
- ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Lophiidae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
- OL 25909650M.
- ^ Christopher Scharpf (14 November 2022). "Order LOPHIIFORMES (part 1): Families LOPHIIDAE, ANTENNARIIDAE, TETRABRACHIIDAE, LOPHICHTHYIDAE, BRACHIONICHTHYIDAE, CHAUNACIDAE and OGCOCEPHALIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
- . Retrieved 14 January 2023.
- ^ a b c d public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Angler". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 15. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
- ^ hdl:10261/143574. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
- ^ "Lophius piscatorius". FishBase. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
- ^ a b c "Lophius piscatorius". Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
- ^ . Retrieved 14 January 2023.
- ISSN 0036-8075.
- ^ "Lophius piscatorius: Reproduction". bioweb.uwlax.edu. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
- Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 38 (2006) 742–754
External links
- Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 7 (9th ed.). 1878. p. 138. .
- Photos of Lophius piscatorius on Sealife Collection