Goosefishes, sometimes called anglers or monkfishes, are a family, the Lophiidae, of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Lophiiformes, the anglerfishes. These fishes are found in all the world's oceans except for the Antarctic Ocean.
Goosefish
American angler (Lophius americanus) at the New England Aquarium
The anglerfish are fish of the teleost order Lophiiformes. They are bony fish named for their characteristic mode of predation, in which a modified luminescent fin ray acts as a lure for other fish. The luminescence comes from symbiotic bacteria, which are thought to be acquired from seawater, that dwell in and around the sea.
(A) Centrophryne spinulosa, 136 mm SL (B) Cryptopsaras couesii, 34.5 mm SL (C) Himantolophus appelii, 124 mm SL (D) Diceratias trilobus, 86 mm SL (E) Bufoceratias wedli, 96 mm SL (F) Bufoceratias shaoi, 101 mm SL (G) Melanocetus eustalus, 93 mm SL (H) Lasiognathus amphirhamphus, 157 mm SL (I) Thaumatichthys binghami, 83 mm SL (J) Chaenophryne quasiramifera, 157 mm SL.
Red-lipped batfish
Striated frogfish (Antennarius striatus)
Skeleton of the anglerfish Lophius piscatorius: The first spine of the dorsal fin of the anglerfish acts as a fishing rod with a lure.
