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anglerfish |
Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.04 sec. |
anglerfishAny of about 210 species of marine fishes (order Lophiiformes) named for their method of “fishing” for prey. The foremost spine of the dorsal fin is located on the head and is modified into a “fishing rod” tipped with a fleshy “bait.” Prey fishes attracted to this lure stray close enough for the anglerfish to swallow them. Often bizarre in form, anglerfishes are also characterized by small gill openings and by limblike pectoral and (in some species) pelvic fins. Most species inhabit the sea bottom. In some species the small male bites into the larger female's body, his mouth fuses with the skin, and the bloodstreams of the two become permanently connected. |
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? Mentioned in | ? References in periodicals archive | |
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| As a result, anglerfish have expandable
jaws and a stomach that can stretch to accommodate food nearly twice
their size. If the smallest-vertebrate title can go to a male that must
attach parasitically to a female, then the winner would be a
Photocorynus spiniceps anglerfish, says Ted Pietsch of the University of
Washington in Seattle. This anglerfish was among the finds of the
project, which is part of the worldwide Census of Marine Life. |
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anglerfish
