Angler Fish, Goddess of the Lamp

Don’t get me wrong, the goddess with the lamp mentioned here is not the famous nursing scientist-Florence. Nightingale. I'm talking about the anglerfish that always holds a small lantern in nature. Angler fish (sound: Ankang), commonly known as toad fish, old man fish, stutter fish, lion fish, sea ghost fish, pipe fish, etc., is called "ugly old lady fish" in Shandong and other places. The anglerfish has a green face, fangs, and a ferocious appearance. It is known as the ugliest fish in the sea. The anglerfish is a deep-sea fish with no scales, a large and flat head, and a bulky body. It is very difficult to swim. It can only live on the bottom of the sea and crawl slowly against the bottom of the sea with its arm-like pectoral fins.

Anglerfish, despite its nice name, is an ugly-looking fish. With a fat body, a big head, a pair of big bulging eyes, and a big mouth with two rows of hard teeth, it looks very ugly. Not only does it look ugly, but the sound it makes sounds like an old man coughing. Therefore, fishermen on the beach also call it "Old Head Fish". The only bright spot on its body is the small lantern on its head. So what exactly is this little lantern for?

In the dark seabed, a group of fish were swimming freely, looking for food carefree. The flashes of light in the deep sea attracted the attention of the fish. Driven by "curiosity", they... The fish swim towards the light, but they don't know that danger is right in front of them. The anglerfish was resting in the deep sea, with the small lantern on its head shining brightly from time to time. At this time, it found a group of small fish swimming towards it in the distance. It remained calm. When the small fish swam in front of it, it suddenly opened its mouth. The "big mouth" swallowed these little guys into its stomach. Everyone knows this time! This little lantern is the "bait" it uses for "fishing". But in biology, this little lantern is called a lure.

The small lantern is formed by the anglerfish's first dorsal fin gradually extending upward. The front section is like a fishing rod, and the end expands to form a "bait". The reason why the small lantern emits light is because there are glandular cells in the lantern that can secrete light pigment. Under the catalysis of luciferase, the light pigment reacts with oxygen to undergo slow chemical oxidation and emit light. Many fish in the deep sea have phototaxis, so small lanterns have become a useful weapon for anglerfish to lure food. But sometimes it can cause some little trouble.

Flickering lanterns can not only attract small fish, but also ferocious enemies. When encountering some ferocious fish, the anglerfish does not dare to fight them head-on. It will quickly stuff its little lantern back into its mouth. Suddenly the ocean becomes dark, and the anglerfish takes advantage of the darkness to turn around and run away. The big fish, which came for the anglerfish, was at a loss in the darkness and had no choice but to leave in frustration.

Of course, not all anglerfish have this small fishing rod, and male anglers do not. Generally, female anglers are larger in size, while male anglers are on the contrary, only one-sixth of their size. When they become a couple, the male fish will be attached to the female fish's body and live together. And when they have been in love with each other for a long time, some male fish may even become one with the female fish. In this way, even if the male fish does not have a fishing rod, he can catch fish. It doesn’t take much effort to get up. Now you know why we call it the “Goddess with the Lamp”!

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