Anglerfish
Because of its appearance, it is also called Pez sapo or pejesapo. Pixín is the name given to monkfish in Asturias. It is a white saltwater fish. They live on the ocean floor up to more than 500m.
The white anglerfish or common anglerfish is distributed along the coasts of North America and Europe. It crawls along the bottom with the movement of its pectoral fins in order to search for food. Its meat is exceptional, compact and very tasty. Only its tail is eaten, but the head is used for soups and broths, to which it gives an incomparable flavor.
Also called Anglerfish, due to the fact that it has a bait at the end of a fleshy appendage coming out of its head, with which it attracts smaller fish, which it then eats. Its teeth, directed inwards, prevent the prey from escaping. It feeds on crustaceans and small and medium-sized fish. Its meat is highly prized.
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Monkfish nutritional information
Typical nutritional values of monkfish per 100 grams of edible portion:
- Calories: Approximately 72 kcal
- Protein: About 14.5 grams
- Fats: About 0.7 grams
- Carbohydrate: Minimal, approximately 0 grams
- Vitamins: Contains vitamin B12, niacin (vitamin B3) and small amounts of other B vitamins.
- Minerals: Good source of potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and selenium. It also contains iron, zinc and small amounts of calcium and manganese.
- Omega-3: It is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, especially eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which are beneficial for heart and brain health.
Main features
✅It has a large head and mouth in relation to the body, which is conical in shape and more cylindrical towards the tail.
✅It is a very voracious animal with a very tough brown or black skin, depending on the background where it lives.
✅The fins come out of a kind of mobile stumps, which are used to crawl on the ground.
✅The first radius of the dorsal fin is forward and has a pendant, which serves as bait to catch fish with its teeth set back.
✅It lives on the bottom, from shallow waters to more than 500 m.
Rapper fish behavior
In general, these fish are solitary. In order to better adapt to deep-sea environments, they have developed a symbiotic relationship with the bacteria that live around their “antenna”.
The relationship consists of a mutualism in which both gain something. On the one hand, the monkfish benefits from the light provided by its organ to be able to see on the seabed and, on the other hand, the bacteria are able to synthesize chemical elements that are necessary to be able to emit luminescence, which if they were far away from the body of the monkfish, they would not be able to.
Another curious aspect of this fish is the relationship between males and females. Generally, the males are smaller and, on many occasions, they become her parasitic companion. This usually happens when the anglerfish is young or unable to swim, it may cling to a female by sinking its teeth into her.
If this relationship is maintained for some time, the male is able to fuse to the female by connecting his skin and blood circulation. When this occurs, he loses his eyes and internal organs with the exception of the reproductive organs. Thus, it is not uncommon for a female to have 6 or more males fused to her body.
Reproduction of monkfish
Due to the dark environment in which they live and the difficulty to meet other fish, it is really problematic for the anglerfish to find a mate to mate with. It is quite unusual for two anglerfish to meet each other. Therefore, when they reproduce, they reproduce sporadically. The male lives for the sole purpose of reproduction and when he finds a female he does not hesitate to merge with her, thus becoming a parasite in exchange for sperm for his partner.
Not all monkfish reproduce in this way, however. There are some species that are able to maintain a temporary sexual attachment without having to fuse their tissues.
Whatever the method of reproduction, the female spawns in the sea on a transparent gelatinous layer. This layer is 25 cm wide and 10 meters long. Each egg floats in an individual chamber with openings for water to circulate inside. When the eggs hatch, thousands of larvae with elongated, filament-like pelvic fins hatch.
