Biodiversity & Conservation

Angler fish - Lophius piscatorius

Lophius piscatorius

Image Keith Hiscock - Angler fish. Image width ca 1.2 m
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Distribution map

Lophius piscatorius recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

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  • UK_BAP
Taxonomy icon Taxonomy Taxon English term
Phylum Chordata Sea squirts, fish, reptiles, birds and mammals
Class Actinopterygii Ray-finned fish, e.g. sturgeon, eels, fin fish, gobies, blennies, and seahorses
Authority Linnaeus, 1758
Recent synonyms None
Map icon Recorded Distribution in Britain and Ireland Lophius piscatorius occurs in coastal waters all around Britain and Ireland. It is predominantly recorded on the west coast of England, Wales and Scotland and the north, south and east coasts of Ireland.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Lophius piscatorius is present in waters from the low intertidal down to depths of 550 m. It is uncommon to see an angler fish in water shallower than 18 m though it may migrate down to as deep as 2000 m in offshore waters in order to spawn. It is found mostly on sandy or muddy bottoms but is also present on shell, gravel and occasionally rocky areas.
Text page icon Description The angler fish grows up to 200 cm in length and is a very distinctive fish, recognizable by having its head and body depressed, a wide mouth, broad head and a fleshy 'lure' at the end of its first dorsal spine, which is used to attract prey. Its colour can be variable but is principally brown or greeny brown with reddish or dark brown mottlings. It always has a white underside. The skin is loose and scaleless and the midline of the body is fringed with leaf like flaps. Lophius piscatorius is a slow moving, bottom dwelling fish most comonly seen half buried and concealed in the sediment.
Identifying features
  • Large, rounded pectoral fins and approximately equally sized dorsal and anal fins.
  • Broad head and wide mouth with large curved teeth in both jaws.
  • Body dorso-ventrally flattened.
  • Skin loose and scaleless with many fringed flaps mostly around the mid line of the fish.
  • Variable colour but basically brown or greeny brown with reddish or dark brown mottlings and white underside.
  • Fleshy 'lure' at the end of the first dorsal spine.
  • Grows up to 200 cm in length.
Additional information icon Additional information The angler fish uses its lure to attract prey to within reach. Prey items are usually smaller fish (such as spurdogs, rays, sand eels, sculpins, sea snails, cod, whiting, pouting, haddock, flatfishes) but a range of items have been found in angler fish stomachs including; lobsters, crabs, squids and occasionally seabirds. Lophius piscatorius is otherwise known as monkfish and is an important commercial fish. It can be confused with the angelshark, Squatina squatina, a cartilaginous fish which, is also known as monkfish. Lophius piscatorius is included in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan for deep-water fish.

This review can be cited as follows:

Al Reeve 2008. Lophius piscatorius. Angler fish. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 22/05/2012]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=3728>