Terrified by the behavior of the ugliest creature on the planet

The lantern fish (Anglerfish), known as the “ugliest creature on the planet” with its monstrous behavior, still makes people curious about the mysteries surrounding them.

The “sharp-toothed monster” suddenly appeared on the beach
The monstrous appearance of the Anglerfish was caught drifting on a California beach. (Photo: Dailymail)

Recently, the body of an Anglerfish, also known as lantern fish, or lampshade fish,… was suddenly discovered on a beach in California (USA).

According to sources, the fish is about 18 inches long (equivalent to 45.7 cm), has a round, flat body with many spines. Its tail fin and body are unlike other fish, as they are divided into many branches because they belong to the order Fins.

The special thing is that it possesses a part with many tentacles on its head, along with a wide open mouth, full of sharp teeth. 

Marine life organizations quickly considered this a “rare find”, in that the fish was almost intact, although they were not sure how it washed ashore. 

Ms. Jessica Roame, coordinator at Davey’s Locker Sportfishing & Whale Watching, said: “This fish often lives very deep, making it difficult for many people to see or study them.” 

Some people even consider putting this fish in a museum, because there are currently only 3 Anglerfish specimens stored, out of about 3 million individuals living in the ocean.

Strange way of hunting
The monstrous appearance of Anglerfish, also known as lantern fish, lampshade fish,… (Photo: Sciencenews)

According to statistics, there are over 350 species of lantern fish, belonging to 72 genera of the order Finfish. They mostly live in dark areas less than 1.5 km below the sea surface in the Atlantic Ocean and Antarctica. 

Due to the harsh living environment, they have evolved from appearance to hunting style to adapt perfectly.

The reason it is called lantern fish, or lampshade fish, is because this creature has a “lure”-like part, capable of bioluminescence, protruding from its head. 

According to studies, this light is produced by bacteria living inside the Anglerfish and will help it attract prey, usually smaller fish. 

When prey approaches, the lantern fish will always stick out its sharp teeth and point upward to attack and swallow the unfortunate prey whole. 

Scary form of mating
Size of male Anglerfish compared to female. (Photo: Wikipedia)

Not only the way of hunting, but even the mating behavior of Anglerfish is described as quite bizarre, unlike any other animal, and seems to only fit images in horror movies. 

Accordingly, male fish will find a partner, then live parasitically by sticking close to the female’s pelvic fins to share food and mate. When mating, male fish will also completely lose their digestive system. To absorb food, it bites into the female’s flesh, creating an almost unified body.  

Parasitism causes male fish to rely entirely on the female, sharing the same digestive system. On the contrary, it will have to always be ready to meet the mating needs of the female.

Over time, all organs in the male disappear, leaving only the testicles. Finally, the male will quickly die, leaving a mass of testicles sufficient for the female to fertilize, which are absorbed through the skin by enzymes.

In contrast to the female Anglerfish, the male fish has a very small body, only about 6.35 mm – about 500,000 times smaller than the female. When observing this fish, researchers noticed that the two sides of most female fish had strange swellings, which turned out to be the remains left by the male fish.