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| Linophryne arborifera | ||||||||||||||
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.gif) Drawing by Dr Tony Ayling
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| Linophryne arborifera Regan, 1925 |
Linophryne arborifera, or illuminated netdevil[1], is an anglerfish of the family Linophrynidae, found in all tropical and subtropical oceans at depths below 1,000 m. Its length is up to 77 mm.
Linophryne arborifera has a deeply-rounded body with a small horn above each eye and a huge mouth full of long sharp teeth. It has two lures, one large and rising from the front of the snout, and the second dense and complexly branched, hanging from beneath the chin. Their colour is black.
These fish, and others in the same family, spend most of their time hanging motionless in the complete darkness of midwater below 1,000 metres, waiting for prey to approach attracted by their glowing lures.
The small and degenerate males attach themselves to the female and become parasitic after a short free-swimming life.
Notes
- ^ Tim Flannery and Peter Schouten, Astonishing Animals: Extraordinary Creatures and the Fantastic Worlds They Inhabit. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2004. Page 192.
References
- Linophryne arborifera (TSN 622980). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved on 18 April 2006.
- "Linophryne arborifera". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. January 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.
- Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand, (William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1982) ISBN 0-00-216987-8
