The Goosefish Family – Lophiidae

There are currently TWO members of the Goosefish or Lophiidae Family, both from the Pacific Ocean, are presented in this website:

FROM THE PACIFIC (2):

The Goosefish or Lophiidae Family has twenty-eight global members that are found in the Arctic, Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Three are found in Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean. They are also known as Monkfish and/or Anglerfish, are known in Mexico’s fishing areas as rapes pescadores.

The Goosefish are medium-sized to fairly large fish measuring in excess of 1.00 m (3 feet 4 inches) in length. They have a very large broad flattened head with a large wide mouth that bears long, sharp, and recurved teeth. Their top jaw is protractile and their lower jaw is projecting. Their bodies are wide at the front and taper towards the rear. Their first dorsal spine, located at the tip of the snout just above the mouth, has been modified into an angling apparatus (illicium) that bears a bulb-like lure (esca) used to attract prey. They also have 2 or 3 other isolated standalone dorsal spines, connected by a membrane and located above the pectoral fins, and a separate spinous dorsal fin that has 1 to 3 spines located just in front of the soft dorsal fin further back on the body. Their gill openings extend from the front to the back of the pectoral fin base. Their pectoral fins are somewhat unique being long and “arm-like”. They have smooth skin and are devoid of scales.

The Goosefish are found on sandy and muddy bottoms at depths between 30 m (100 feet) and 1,555 m (5,100 feet). They are sedimentary bottom dwellers that are “lie and wait” predators of small fish and crustaceans. They are oviparous with the females releasing their eggs which are then fertilized by the males. The planktonic larvae become pelagic as they mature and then hatch. The Goosefish, in general, are poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.

Several of the larger Goosefish, commonly known as Monkfish in northern Europe, are important commercial species. Their livers, known as “ankimo”, are considered a delicacy in Japan. The Goosefish date to the Lower Tertiary and Middle Eocene periods, 23 to 66 million years ago.