Anglerfish

ocean · deep sea · predator

Built-in fishing rod. An anglerfish has a special spine on its head that works like a fishing pole, dangling a lure right in front of its mouth to tempt prey closer.

Glowing bait. The tip of the lure, called the esca, can light up in the dark deep sea to attract curious fish that swim too close.

Ray-finned fish. Anglerfish belong to the order Lophiiformes, a group of ray-finned fish whose name comes from their clever way of hunting.

Different lures. There are many families of anglerfish, and they use all kinds of luring tricks to attract their favorite kinds of prey.