First-ever observations of a living anglerfish, a female with her tiny mate, coupled for life

Down deep off the south slope of São Jorge Island in the Azores, west of Portugal in the North Atlantic Ocean, a fearsome-looking fish and her parasitically attached mate drift almost helplessly, salvaging precious energy in their dark, food-scarce environment

The pair, a species never before seen alive by humans, was recorded recently on camera by researchers Kirsten and Joachim Jakobsen aboard the LULA1000, a submersible operated by the marine science-focused Rebikoff-Niggeler Foundation.

For some 25 minutes, the female—a kind of anglerfish known as the Fanfin Seadevil—was observed to float slowly and gracefully, rolling in the current, head down and head up, through the pitch-black water at a depth of about 800 meters (2,600 feet). She swept her long whisker-like fin-rays back and forth, with pinpoints of light emanating at intervals along the length of each ray—the soft, spine-like structure that supports the fins. Hard to see at first glance was a tiny male, hanging from her belly.

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Credit: Rebikoff-Niggeler Foundation

A female anglerfish known as the Fanfin Seadevil is seen alive in this video screengrab taken at about 800 meters (2,660 feet) deep in the North Atlantic Ocean.

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First footage of deep-sea anglerfish pair.

 

When a male finds a female, he bites into her skin, and releases an enzyme that digests the skin of his mouth and her body, fusing the pair down to the blood-vessel level. The male becomes dependent on the female host for survival by receiving nutrients via their shared circulatory system, and provides sperm to the female in return.

After fusing, males increase in volume and become much larger relative to free-living males of the species. They live and remain reproductively functional as long as the female lives, and can take part in multiple spawnings.

This extreme sexual dimorphism ensures that when the female is ready to spawn, she has a mate immediately available.

Multiple males can be incorporated into a single individual female with up to eight males in some species, though some taxa appear to have a "one male per female" rule.

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By NOAA/NMFS/SEFSC Pascagoula Laboratory; Collection of Brandi Noble, NOAA/NMFS/SEFSC.

Striped anglerfish (Antennarius striatus)

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The anglerfish uses a shiny lure to bring prey within range of its sharp teeth. But it also has a weirdly clingy side — after finding a female, the male black devil angler latches on and never lets go!

 

Deep-sea anglerfish are strange and elusive creatures that are very rarely observed in their natural habitat. Fewer than half a dozen have ever been captured on film or video by deep diving research vehicles. This little angler, about 9 cm long, is named Melanocetus. It is also known as the Black Seadevil and it lives in the deep dark waters of the Monterey Canyon.

MBARI's ROV Doc Ricketts observed this anglerfish for the first time at 600 meters on a midwater research expedition in November 2014. We believe that this is the first video footage ever made of this species alive and at depth.