What does anglerfish mean?
An anglerfish is any of a large order (Lophiiformes) of predatory marine fishes named for their distinctive hunting method: a modified dorsal spine, called the illicium, tipped with a fleshy bait that is twitched like a lure — much as an angler works a fishing line. The most famous species live in the deep ocean, where females carry a bioluminescent organ that glows to draw prey toward enormous, needle-toothed jaws. Anglerfish are noted for extreme sexual dimorphism: males of some species are minute and fuse permanently to a female's body. The term also overlaps with common names such as monkfish and goosefish for the larger bottom-dwelling species prized as food. Evocative and slightly macabre, 'anglerfish' appears frequently in nature writing, documentaries, and popular accounts of life in the deep sea.
nounAny of a group of predatory marine fishes (order Lophiiformes) in which a modified dorsal-fin spine bearing a fleshy lure is used to attract prey; many deep-sea species are bioluminescent.
- Any marine fish of the order Lophiiformes, characterized by a modified fin spine (illicium) used as a lure to attract prey.
- Specifically, a deep-sea lophiiform fish in which females bear a bioluminescent lure and males are typically much smaller.
"In the darkness of the abyss, the female anglerfish waves her glowing lure above her gaping jaws."
"Divers off the Azores photographed an anglerfish resting on the seafloor, its lure flickering faintly."
"The deep-sea anglerfish is famous for sexual parasitism, in which the tiny male fuses permanently to the much larger female."
Both plurals are accepted; 'anglerfish' used collectively is standard in scientific literature, while 'anglerfishes' emphasizes individual animals.
"Several anglerfish were observed at depths exceeding two thousand metres."
The female anglerfish carries her own fishing rod: a glowing lure grown from her own spine that she dangles to hypnotize prey in total darkness.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of anglerfish
The name combines 'angler' — from Old English 'angel', meaning fishhook, which also gives us the verb 'to angle' — with 'fish', reflecting the animal's hook-and-lure hunting technique. The compound arose in English natural-history writing, becoming widespread in the nineteenth century as deep-sea exploration revealed the strange forms of the group. Related terms include 'angling', the sport of fishing with a hook and line, whose Germanic cognates preserve the ancient link between hooks and fishing.
How anglerfish is actually used
The word is used both broadly (for all Lophiiformes) and specifically for the bizarre deep-sea species popularized by nature documentaries. Plural may be 'anglerfish' or 'anglerfishes'; 'anglerfish' as a collective plural is common in scientific writing.
Easily confused with anglerfish
Monkfish is the common culinary name for certain large anglerfish (especially Lophius species), but 'anglerfish' is the broader scientific and general term for the whole group.