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

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 , but is a more usual size. The greatest recorded weight is and the greatest recorded age is 30 years.''Lophius americanus'' Valenciennes, 1837
FishBase. Retrieved 2012-01-06.

Distribution and habitat

The American anglerfish is found in the western Atlantic from Newfoundland and

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

south to northern

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, but is commoner in the more northerly parts of its range, north of

Cape Hatteras Cape Hatteras is a cape located at a pronounced bend in Hatteras Island, one of the barrier islands of North Carolina. Long stretches of beach, sand dunes, marshes, and maritime forests create a unique environment where wind and waves shap ...

. It is a demersal fish living close to the seabed at depths down to about . It is found on sand bottoms, gravel, shell fragments, mud and clay.

Behaviour

Feeding

The American anglerfish is an ambush

predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

. It spends most of its time on the seabed partly covered in sediment waiting for suitable

prey Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill ...

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. After storms it has been reported on the sea surface where it has been recorded as catching seabirds.

Breeding and lifecycle

Spawning takes place in the summer with a peak in May and June. The

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

are large and are believed to be unique among fish in being attached to a floating

mucus Mucus ( ) is a slippery aqueous secretion produced by, and covering, mucous membranes. It is typically produced from cells found in mucous glands, although it may also originate from mixed glands, which contain both serous and mucous cells. It ...

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 Zooplankton are the animal component of the planktonic community ("zoo" comes from the Greek word for ''animal''). Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents, and consequently drift or are carried along by ...

and look quite different from the adult fish, being laterally compressed and having long dorsal and pectoral fin rays. When about 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.

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

References

Monkfish
''NOAA FishWatch''. Retrieved 11 November 2012. * ''Dictionary of American Regional English'' {{Taxonbar, from=Q1755989 americanus Taxa named by Achille Valenciennes Fish described in 1837