Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
In most anglerfish the point of attachment for the male is on the belly, close to the anus, but in H. mollis the attachment site can be anywhere on the head or body, and in one case, a male attached to the female's esca (lure). The males orient themselves in random directions, and there may be more than one male per female.
Linophrynidae: Haplophryne mollis female anglerfish with males attached Antennariidae: striated frogfish, Antennarius striatus. Some anglerfish, like those of the Ceratiidae, or sea devils, employ an unusual mating method. [34] Because individuals are locally rare, encounters are also very rare. Therefore, finding a mate is problematic.
Linophryne arborifera, or illuminated netdevil, [2] is an anglerfish of the family Linophrynidae, found in all tropical and subtropical oceans at depths below 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in the Bathyal zone. Its length is up to 77 mm (3 inches). The female is significantly larger than the mature, parasitic male.
The males are many times smaller than the females; a male seeks out a female, using its sharp teeth to clamp onto the female, where the male remains for the rest of its life. In some species, the male becomes part of the female. This is the only known natural example of a process called parabiosis.
Female with a parasitic male, preparation at the Saint Petersburg Zoology Museum. Ceratiidae, the warty sea devils, caruncled seadevils or seadevils, are a family of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the suborder Ceratioidei, the deep-sea anglerfishes, in the anglerfish order Lophiiformes.
The parasitic males have denticular teeth, while their eyes, and olfactory organs degenerate and they have very inflated bellies. The largest published standard length of a metamorphosed female is 27.5 cm (10.8 in), that of a free-living male is 0.86 cm (0.34 in) and that of parasitic males is .073 to 3.0 cm (0.029 to 1.181 in). [7]
Female triplewart seadevil, an anglerfish, with male attached near vent (arrow) Some species of anglerfish also display extreme sexual dimorphism. Females are more typical in appearance to other fish, whereas males are tiny rudimentary creatures with stunted digestive systems.
Female anglerfish, Haplophryne mollis, with atrophied males attached Further information: Parasitism Sexual parasitism is a mode of sexual reproduction , unique to anglerfish , in which the males of a species are much smaller than the females, and rely on the females for food and protection from predators.