Anglerfish

Hello, this isWild Suzhou. Today, we will betalking about Anglerfish, which is a group of around 210 rather unique lookingfish. First, what is anAnglerfish? They are a group of rather bizarre looking fish that have amodified fin that sits on the top of their head. This modified fin has a fleshypiece of skin attached at the end, which looks like a bait a fisherman woulduse. This is where anglerfish get their name from. In english, the word anglermeans a fisherman who uses a fishing rod, which is what the anglerfish lookslike it is doing. This is because the fin on the top of its head looks like afishing rod, and works like one too. Other fish are attracted to the fin on thetop of the angler fish's head, thinking that they have found something to eat.Instead, the anglerfish is going to eat them! There are four different types ofanglerfish: frogfish, batfish, goosefish, and the deep-sea angler. Batfish, which isone group of anglerfish, has a unique feature. One big difference betweenbatfish and other types of anglerfish is that the fishing rod shaped fin on thetop of its head is retractable, meaning it can be hidden when it’s not beingused. When people thinkof anglerfish, they probably think of deep-sea anglers. These are by far themost recognizable group. Unlike other groups, they usually swim instead of walkalong the ocean floor, and only the females have the fishing rod shaped fin onthe top of their head. Additionally, the bait, which is the piece of skinattached to the end of the rod, usually glows because of the dark underwaterenvironment. In some species, the male anglerfish is parasitic, attaching andfusing to its female mate and eventually becoming totally dependent on thefemale to survive. For Wild Suzhou,I’m Ciana, thanks for listening and see you next time.