Lophius piscatorius
No common name
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Lophiiformes (Anglerfish)
Lophiidae (Goosefishes)
Lophius
Lophius piscatorius
Description
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Characters
Body shape: short and / or deep. Peritoneum pale. Head and body depressed. Mouth wide and cavernous. Skin thin and loose, scales absent. Esca bifid, 2 broad, flattened , leaf-like blades. Dorsal spines long, stout and bearing many well-developed tendrils; 4th spine greater than snout width (Ref. 4712).
Distribution
Eastern Atlantic: south-western Barents Sea to Strait of Gibraltar including the Mediterranean and Black Sea. Reported from Iceland (Ref. 4712) and Mauritania (Ref. 5377). North Atlantic specimens attain larger sizes than those collected off West Africa and they also occur in shallower depths.
Habitat Associations
Marine. bathydemersal. depth range 20-1000 m.
Biology
Occurs on sandy and muddy bottoms from the coast (below 20 m, Ref. 12382) down to depths of 1,000 m. May also be found on rocky bottoms (Ref. 12382). It lies half-buried in the sediment waiting for its prey. It attracts prey by means of its fishing filament (Ref. 5377). Feeds mainly on fishes, occasionally sea-birds. Marketed fresh and frozen; eaten steamed, sautéed, broiled, boiled, fried, microwaved and baked (Ref. 9988). It is a well-studied species in Europe and is sold without the skin and the head under the name 'queue de Lotte' (Ref. 5377). Does not adapt well in home aquariums due to its large size (Ref. 12382).
Max length: 200.0 cm SL; common length: 100.0 cm SL; max weight: 57700 g; max age: 24 years.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2013-05-09. Resilience: Medium (K=0.07-0.33; tm=4.5-14; tmax=24; Fec=1 million).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: highly commercial.
References
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
Thresher, R.E. (1984) Reproduction in reef fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Inc. Ltd., Neptune City, New Jersey. 399 p.
Caruso, J.H. (1986) Lophiidae. p. 1362-1363. In P.J.P. Whitehead, M.-L. Bauchot, J.-C. Hureau, J. Nielsen and E. Tortonese (eds.) Fishes of the North-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean, Volume 3. Unesco, Paris.
Muus, B.J. and P. Dahlstrøm (1989) Havfisk og Fiskeri i Nordvesteuropa. GEC Gads Forlag, København, 244 p. (in Danish).
Greenstreet, S.P.R. (1996) Estimation of the daily consumption of food by fish in the North Sea in each quarter of the year. Scottish Fish. Res. Rep. No. 55.
Tsimenides, N. (1980) Contribution to the study of the anglerfishes Lophius budegassa Spinola 1807 and L. piscatorius L. 1758 in Greek seas. PhD. Thesis, University of Patras. (In Hellenic with English abstract).
Muus, B.J. and J.G. Nielsen (1999) Sea fish. Scandinavian Fishing Year Book, Hedehusene, Denmark. 340 p.
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