Anglerfish, with their menacing gape and dangling lure, are among the most curious inhabitants of the deep ocean. Scientists have hardly ever seen them alive in their natural environment. That’s why a new video, captured in the waters around Portugal’s Azores islands, has stunned deep-sea biologists.
image/source: sciencemag
The video showing two fanfin anglers it was shot 800 metres down a seawall off Sao Jorge Island in the Azores by deep-sea explorers Kirsten and Joachim Jakobsen, using a special submersible./sciencemag
This is one of the best ever captured, and offers a wealth of new information.It shows a fist-size female anglerfishresplendent with bioluminescent lights and elongated whiskerlike structures projecting outward from her body.
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And if you look closely, she’s got a mate: A dwarf male is fused to her underside, essentially acting as a permanent sperm provider.
