Black monkfish
| Black monkfish | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Black anglerfish ( Lophius budegassa ) |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Lophius budegassa | ||||||||||||
| Spinola , 1807 |
The black anglerfish ( Lophius budegassa ) is a marine fish from the order of the armfinches (Lophiiformes). The fish live in the eastern Atlantic from the coast of the British Isles to Senegal and the Mediterranean .
features
Black anglerfish can reach a maximum length of one meter, but rarely reach lengths of over 50 centimeters. They resemble the "common" anglerfish , the main difference is the black abdominal skin in the body cavity and only 9 to 10 fin rays in the second dorsal fin. The fish are camouflaged by numerous skin appendages on the sides, which make them look like algae-covered stones. The first ray of the dorsal fin is designed as an "angel" (Illicium) with attached "bait" (Esca). The maximum published age of the black anglerfish is 21 years.
Way of life
Black anglerfish live on the sea floor at depths of 300 to 650 meters, and up to 1000 meters in the eastern Ionian Sea . The species feeds primarily on fish that are attracted by the Illicium and sucked in by suddenly opening its huge mouth.
literature
- Bent J. Muus, Jørgen G. Nielsen: The marine fish of Europe in the North Sea, Baltic Sea and Atlantic. Kosmos, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-440-07804-3 .
Web links
- Black monkfish on Fishbase.org (English)