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Anglerfish
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<p>The anglerfish are <a href="/facts/Ray-finned_fish/3PNaXXmJ">ray-finned fish</a> in the order Lophiiformes . Both the order's <a href="/facts/Common_name/3KNNezEU">common</a> and <a href="/facts/Scientific_name/jgBqAhPv">scientific name</a> comes from the characteristic mode of <a href="/facts/Predation/JEGdrX3f">predation</a>, in which a modified dorsal <a href="/facts/Fish_fin/kS10PMPf">fin ray</a> acts as a <a href="/facts/Aggressive_mimicry/qzV3qeab">lure</a> for prey (akin to a human <a href="/facts/Angling/FaWYQkUU">angler</a>, and likened to a crest or "<i>lophos</i>"). The modified fin ray, with the very tip being the <a href="/facts/Esca_(fish_anatomy)/oTpyBSjS">esca</a> and the length of the structure the <a href="/facts/Illicium_(fish_anatomy)/oTpyBSjS">illicium</a>, is adapted to attract specific prey items across the families of anglerfish by using different luring methods. The teeth of anglerfishes are also hinged, which act like a one-way trap, helping anglerfishes hold onto their struggling prey and prevent it from escaping. </p><p>Anglerfish occur worldwide. The majority are bottom-dwellers, being <a href="/facts/Demersal_fish/WqoGaBHp">demersal fish</a>, while the aberrant <a href="/facts/Deep-sea_anglerfish/xVFUEY95">deep-sea anglerfish</a> are <a href="/facts/Pelagic_fish/v60cue6L">pelagic</a>, (mostly) living high in the <a href="/facts/Water_column/RNQbAVJj">water column</a>. Some live in the <a href="/facts/Deep-sea_fish/b79nGkHX">deep sea</a> (such as the deep-sea anglerfish and <a href="/facts/Sea_toad/XJQCl0Xt">sea toads</a>), while others live in shallower waters, such as the <a href="/facts/Antennariidae/caW00RTx">frogfishes</a> and the <a href="/facts/Ogcocephaloidea/1gdL4f3e">batfish</a>. </p><p>Anglerfish are notable for their <a href="/facts/Sexual_dimorphism/nx9wulFy">sexual dimorphism</a>, which is sometimes extremely pronounced; the males may be several <a href="/facts/Orders_of_magnitude/cWzRP2dM">orders of magnitude</a> smaller in <a href="/facts/Mass/HHdc8XmF">mass</a> than females. This dimorphism has enabled a unique reproductive method in the deep-sea anglerfish; <a href="/facts/Ceratioidei/xVFUEY95">sexual parasitism</a> is the attachment of male to the much larger female, sometimes fusing together as an example of <a href="/facts/Parabiosis/FTXrna6S">natural parabiosis</a>. </p>