OzAnimals.com
Australian Wildlife

  Fanfin Anglerfish (Caulophryne jordani)





Fanfin Anglerfish | Caulophryne jordani photo
Fanfin Anglerfish

Image by Ray Simpson - Some rights reserved.    (view image details)







FANFIN ANGLERFISH FACTS

Description
The Fanfin Anglerfish is a rounded fish with fan shaped dorsal and anal fins. It has a spine above the eyes (the illicium) with a fleshy growth (the esca) at the tip of the spine. The spine can be moved in directions, and the esca wiggled to act as bait to lure predators close enough for the anglerfish to catch. The Fanfin Anglerfish is black apart from the tip of the illicium. When a male finds a female, he bites her and stays attached. His skin fuses with the female and he becomes a parasite on her sharing the same bloodstream.

Size
Females grow to 20cm, males grow to only 1.6cm

Habitat
found in deep waters from 100m to 3000m

Range
Found around the world. In Australia C. jordani it has been found off the central New South Wales coast and in Australian waters south of Norfolk Island.



Classification
Class:Actinopterygii
Order:Lophiiformes
Family:Caulophrynidae
Genus:Caulophryne
Species:jordani
Common Name:Fanfin Anglerfish