Monkfish in natural environment

An 1856 illustration depicting Lophius americanus as a sea monster.

Monkfish is used as an English name of distinct number of types of fish in the northwest Atlantic notably the species of the anglerfish genus Lophius and the angelshark genus Squatina. The term is also occasionally used for a sea monster of the sixteenth century more often called a sea monk. The Fast Show is a BBC comedy sketch show programme that ran for four series from 1994 to 2000. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1280x960, 617 KB) I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1280x960, 617 KB) I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 434 pixelsFull resolution (1036 × 562 pixel, file size: 477 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) An 1856 illustration depicting Lophius americanus as a sea monster. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 434 pixelsFull resolution (1036 × 562 pixel, file size: 477 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) An 1856 illustration depicting Lophius americanus as a sea monster. ... Binomial name Valenciennes in Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1837 American Angler (Lophius americanus) skeleton Lophius americanus is a monkfish in the family Lophiidae. ... Species Lophius americanus Lophius budegassa Lophius gastrophysus Lophius litulon Lophius piscatorius Lophius vaillanti Lophius vomerinus Monkfish in natural envorinment Monkfish is the common name of a number of different species of fish. ... Species (16 species, see text) The angel sharks are an unusual group of sharks, with their flattened bodies and broad pectoral fins that give them a strong resemblance to skates and rays. ... Illustration from The Book of Days, published in 1869 The sea monk, or sometimes monk-fish, was a sea monster found off the coast of Denmark almost certainly in 1546 (Paxton & Holland 2005). ...

Monkfish performance is the most common English name for the genus Lophius in the northwest Atlantic but goosefish is used as the equivalent term on the eastern coast of North America. Monkfish have three long filaments sprouting from the middle of its head; these are the detached and modified three first spines of the anterior dorsal fin. As in most anglerfish species, the longest filament is the first, which terminates in an irregular growth of flesh, the esca. This modified fin ray is movable in all directions. This esca is used as a lure to attract other fishes, which monkfish then typically swallow whole. Experiments have shown, however, that whether the prey has been attracted to the lure or not is not strictly relevant, as the action of the jaws is an automatic reflex triggered by contact with the esca. Species Lophius americanus Lophius budegassa Lophius gastrophysus Lophius litulon Lophius piscatorius Lophius vaillanti Lophius vomerinus Monkfish in natural envorinment Monkfish is the common name of a number of different species of fish. ... Species Lophius americanus Lophius budegassa Lophius gastrophysus Lophius litulon Lophius piscatorius Lophius vaillanti Lophius vomerinus Monkfish Monkfish is the common name of a number of different species of fish. ...

It grows to a length of more than 5 ft.; specimens of 3 ft. are common.

Two species Lophius piscatorius and Lophius budegassa are found in north-western Europe and referred to as monkfish, with L. piscatorius by far the most common species around the British Isles.

A second group of fish also known as monkfish are members of the genus Squatina, in the angel shark family Squatinidae. These are of somewhat similar shape to the anglerfish, but completely unrelated; like the true sharks, they are elasmobranchs. These fish are only of minor significance for human consumption, though they are endangered because they are caught as bycatch by trawlers. Species (16 species, see text) The angel sharks are an unusual group of sharks, with their flattened bodies and broad pectoral fins that give them a strong resemblance to skates and rays. ... Superorders Batoidea (rays and skates) Selachimorpha (sharks) Elasmobranchii is the subclass of cartilaginous fish that includes skates, rays (batoidea) and sharks (selachii). ... In fisheries science, by-catch refers to species caught in a fishery intended to target another species, as well as reproductively_immature juveniles of the target species. ... A modern Icelandic trawler A trawler is a fishing vessel designed for the purpose of operating a trawl, a type of fishing net that is dragged along the bottom of the sea (or sometimes above the bottom at a specified depth). ...

See also

• Lophiiformes
• Anglerfish
• Angler

Families Antennariidae Brachionichthyidae Caulophrynidae Centrophrynidae Ceratiidae Chaunacidae Diceratiidae Gigantactinidae Himantolophidae Linophrynidae Lophichthyidae Lophiidae Melanocetidae Neoceratiidae Ogcocephalidae Oneirodidae Tetrabrachiidae Thaumatichthyidae The Lophiiformes are a large and diverse order of ray-finned fish, also called the Pediculati. ... Suborders Antennarioidei Lophioidei Ogcocephalioidei See text for families. ... The Angler (Lophius piscatorius) The angler, also sometimes called fishing-frog, frog-fish, or sea-devil (Lophius piscatorius), is a fish well known off the coasts of Great Britain and much of Europe. ...

External links

• The Compleat Lophius
• Monkfish facts, Maryland Department of Natural Resources
• NOAA Monkfish Research Program

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. Encyclopædia Britannica, the eleventh edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...