''Lophius budegassa'', the blackbellied angler, is a species of anglerfish in the family Lophiidae. It was described by

Maximilian Spinola Maximilian Spinola ( it, Massimiliano Spinola; July 10, 1780 – November 12, 1857) was an Italian entomologist. Background Spinola was born in Pézenas, Hérault, France. The family of Spinola was of very long standing and had great wealth a ...

in 1807. The fish is found in a depth range of in the eastern Ionian Sea while in the inshore waters of the United Kingdom it is found at a depth of . It is also found off the coast of

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

and in

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

. The species can measure up to , but is more commonly around half that length. In regard to the length frequency distribution, the Mediterranean International Trawl Survey's (MEDITS) data sets of 1994–1999 show a clear predominance of the species smaller than 30 cm in the central and eastern Mediterranean (Ionian, Adriatic, and Aegean seas). It has also been found that the spawning period of this species occurs over several months; furthermore, the growth rate of juveniles has been shown to be faster than previously expected.

References

Fish described in 1807 Fish of West Africa Taxa named by Maximilian Spinola budegassa {{Lophiiformes-stub