Angler fish. European angler fish: description and types of monkfish

It has an extremely unattractive appearance. According to one version, this is why it was named that way. It lives at the bottom, hiding in the sand or between rocks. It feeds on fish and various crustaceans, which it catches using its dorsal fin as a fishing rod with bait dangling in front of its mouth.

Description

Angler belongs to the order of anglerfish, the family of ray-finned fish. It is also known as the European anglerfish. It grows up to 1.5 - 2 m in size and can weigh up to 20 kg or more. In catches it is usually found up to 1 m long and weighing up to 10 kg. The body is flattened, disproportionate, the head occupies up to two-thirds of its length. The color of the upper part is spotted, brown with a greenish or reddish tint. The belly is white.

The mouth is wide, with sharp, large teeth curved inward. The skin is bare, without scales. The eyes are small, vision and sense of smell are poorly developed. The monkfish fish has leathery folds around its mouth that constantly move, like algae, which allows it to hide and camouflage itself in benthic vegetation.

The anterior dorsal fin plays a special role in females. It consists of six rays, three of which are isolated and grow separately. The first of them is directed forward and forms a kind of fishing rod hanging down to the mouth. It has a base, a thin part - “fishing line”, and a leathery luminous bait.

Habitat and species

Monkfish is found in fishermen's catches in many seas. The European anglerfish is common in the Atlantic. Here it lives at depths ranging from 20 to 500 m or more. It can be found in the seas along the coast of Europe, in the waters of the Barents and North Seas.

The Far Eastern variety of monkfish lives off the coast of Japan and Korea. Found in Okhotsk, Zheltoye, South China Seas. Usually inhabits depths from 40-50 to 200 m. The American anglerfish in the northern part of the Atlantic lives at shallow depths, and in the southern regions it is more often found in coastal zone. It can be found at depths of up to 600 m with a wide range of water temperatures (0 - 20 °C).

Juveniles hatched from eggs differ in appearance from adults. At the beginning of life they feed on plankton and live for several months in upper layers water, and upon reaching a length of 7 cm, they change appearance, sink to the bottom, and become predators. Intensive growth continues during the first year of life.

Not long ago, in the depths of the ocean, they were discovered related species monkfish. They were named deep sea anglers. They can withstand enormous water pressure. They live at depths of up to 2000 m.

Nutrition

Monkfish spend a lot of time in ambush. It lies motionless at the bottom, buried in the sand or camouflaged among stones and aquatic vegetation. The “hunt” can take him 10 hours or more. At this time, he actively plays with bait in order to attract a curious victim. The leathery bulb surprisingly accurately copies the movements of a fry or shrimp.

When an interested fish is nearby, the monkfish opens its mouth and sucks in the water along with the victim. This takes only a few milliseconds, so there is practically no chance of escaping from sharp teeth. In special cases, the anglerfish can jump forward, pushing off with its fins, or use the reactivity of a stream of water released through its narrow gill slits.

Most often, the diet of monkfish is dominated by stingrays, eels, gobies, flounders and other bottom fish. He also does not disdain shrimps and crabs. During intense zhora after spawning, it can rise to the upper layers of water and, despite poor eyesight and sense of smell, attack mackerel and herring. Cases of monkfish preying on waterfowl have been reported. It can be dangerous for a person at such moments.

Monkfish: reproduction

Male and female anglerfish are so different in appearance and size that until some time experts classified them into different classes. The breeding of monkfish is as special as its appearance and hunting method.

The male anglerfish is several times smaller in size than the female. To fertilize the eggs, he needs to find his chosen one and not lose sight of her. To do this, males simply bite into the female’s body. The structure of the teeth does not allow them to free themselves, and they do not want to.

Over time, the female and male grow together, forming single organism with a common body. Some of the “husband’s” organs and systems atrophy. He no longer needs eyes, fins, or a stomach. Nutrients come through the blood vessels from the “wife’s” body. The male has only right moment fertilize the eggs.

They are usually spawned by the female in the spring. The fertility of the anglerfish is quite high. On average, a female lays up to 1 million eggs. This occurs at depth and looks like a long (up to 10 m) and wide (up to 0.5 m) ribbon. The female can carry several “husbands” on her body so that they right time fertilized a large number of caviar.

Monkfish (see photo above) is not able to compare the feeling of hunger with the size of its prey. There is evidence of an angler catching a fish larger than itself, but being unable to release it due to the structure of its teeth. It happens that a monkfish catches a waterfowl and choke on its feathers, which leads to its death.

Only females have a “fishing rod”. Each species of these fish has a unique bait that is unique to them. It differs not only in shape. Bacteria living in the mucus of the leathery bulb emit light of a certain range. For this they need oxygen.

The anglerfish can adjust the glow. After eating, it temporarily compresses the blood vessels leading to the bait, and thereby reduces the flow of oxygen-enriched blood there. The bacteria stop glowing and the flashlight goes out. There is no need for it temporarily, and the light can attract a larger predator.

Monkfish, although disgusting in appearance, the meat is tasty, and in some regions it is considered a delicacy. The courage and gluttony of this predator give divers and scuba divers cause for concern. From a hungry anglerfish, especially large size, better stay away.

Whatever they are called - and monkfish, and sea scorpions, and angler fish, and the European anglerfish. However, there are also several varieties of this miracle fish. And in terms of originality of appearance, each of the types is not inferior to each other. People have never seen devils, but the sea monsters that have risen from the depths resemble creatures from the underworld.

In fact, it's simple sea ​​fish- a predator fish with an amazing, unlike anything else appearance.

These fish belong to the ray-finned fish, to the order Anglerfishes, to the family Anglerfishes, to the genus Anglerfishes. Now in the watery depths of the earth there are two varieties of monkfish:

• European anglerfish (lat. Lophius piscatorius);
• American anglerfish (lat. Lophius americanus).

External appearance of the sea angler

When you first look at this creature, a remarkable organ immediately catches your eye - the “fishing rod”. The modified fin really resembles a fishing rod with a luminous float. This ugly monster, sometimes reaching up to two meters in length and 30-40 kilograms, can itself regulate the glow of its float. But there is nothing supernatural about this. In fact, the float is a kind of skin formation, in the folds of which amazing bacteria live. In the presence of oxygen, which they draw from the blood of the anglerfish, they glow. But if the monkfish just had lunch and lay down to take a nap, he does not need a glowing flashlight, and it blocks the access of blood to the fin-fishing rod, and the float goes out until the start of a new hunt.

The entire appearance of the monkfish reveals that it is a resident depths of the sea. Elongated body, with an unnatural big head, everything is covered with some kind of growths, vaguely reminiscent of either algae, or tree bark, or some kind of twigs and snags.

The sight of a monkfish going out hunting with an open mouth full of sharp teeth certainly makes an indelible impression. The skin on top is bare brown, covered with dark spots, sometimes with a reddish tint, and a light, almost white belly, serves as a good camouflage for the creature against the dark seabed.

Monkfish habitat

Fish of this species are found in seas and oceans around the world. Although its main refuge is still the Atlantic Ocean. Monkfish are also found off the coast of Europe and Iceland. In addition, it is caught in the Black and Baltic, and even in the cold Northern and Barents Seas. This fairly unpretentious bottom fish can easily exist in water at temperatures from 0 to 20 degrees.

Anglerfish can live on different depths from 50 to 200 meters. True, there are also specimens that prefer depths of up to 2000 meters.

Hunters from the deep sea

The best way to spend time for an anglerfish is to lie calmly and well-fed on the seabed in sand or silt. But don't let his motionless body fool you. This is a very voracious but patient creature. sea ​​scorpion can lie motionless for hours, tracking and waiting for the appearance of its prey. As soon as some curious fish swims past, the angler instantly grabs it and immediately stuffs it into his mouth.

It should be noted that this fish has an excellent appetite. Very often it feeds on prey that is almost as big as it. Because of this gluttony, unpleasant and even fatal cases occur when anglerfish choke on prey that does not fit in their stomach, although its size is truly enormous. Sometimes they rise to the surface of the water and hunt birds, whose feathers, getting stuck in the mouth, can lead to suffocation. After all, having grabbed the victim, the anglerfish can no longer release it due to the specific structure of its teeth.

Monkfish also have another type of hunting. It literally jumps along the bottom with the help of its lower fins and, overtaking the prey, eats it.

Monkfish is a predator, the subject of its hunt are:

• small fish;
• small sharks - katrans;
• small stingrays or their babies;
• a variety of waterfowl.

Family life and reproduction of angler fish

Female monkfish many times more males. The role of males is reduced to just fertilizing the eggs. Moreover, they have become so lazy that when they find a female, they cling to her with sharp teeth and remain with her for the rest of their lives. Over the years, some of their organs atrophy, and they become simply appendages of the female that do not need to hunt because they feed through the female’s blood. Sometimes several males approach a female for fertilization. more caviar.

When the mating season begins, the females descend to the depths and release a ribbon of eggs up to 10 meters long. The tape is divided into small hexagonal cells with eggs. It should be noted that a female monkfish can simultaneously lay a clutch of about three million eggs. After some time, the eggs are released and travel on their own. sea ​​waters. Turning into larvae, they live closer to the surface of the water for up to four months, and only when they reach a length of 6-8 cm do they sink to the bottom.

Monkfish as a gastronomic dish

Despite its external ugliness, monkfish meat is very tasty. In Spain and France, dishes made from it are considered a delicacy. Most chefs use only the tail of the fish, but often in restaurants they cook monkfish from the head delicious soup from seafood. Anglerfish meat is prepared in different ways:

• grilled;
• cooked for soups and salads;
• stewed with vegetables.

It is white, almost boneless, dense and tender at the same time, reminiscent of lobster meat.

Anglerfish, an order of bony fish, got their name (monkfish) not only because of predation, but mainly because they have a curious appearance.

The fish's head has a fleshy appendage that it uses as bait for fish. This is the front part of the dorsal fin. It hangs in the form of a “fishing rod” directly above the mouth.

When it comes to the body size of monkfish, females are usually larger than males. People recognize the anglerfish as a fish because of its extreme sexual dimorphism.

Here are some interesting facts about the angler fish:

• Researchers claim that this species of fish appeared 130 million years ago.
• Monkfish colors vary from dark gray to dark brown.
• These predators have huge heads that carry huge, crescent-shaped mouths.
• The oral cavity is full of fangs: these teeth are angled inward to effectively capture prey.
• Their length can vary from 8.9 cm to 1 m, with a body weight of up to 45 kg.

Where Can You Find Monkfish?

Angler fish spotted in various areas peace. Some of them can be seen in the depths of the ocean. Angler fish are listed as both demersal fish and pelagic fish. Monkfish live in all seas and all over the world. Some pelagic species of these fish live in the deep sea (for example, Ceratiidae), while others live on continental shelf(for example, threadfin Antennariidae and goosefish Lophiidae). Pelagic forms are laterally more compressed, while benthic forms are extremely dorsoventrally compressed.

Differences between deep-deep fish (benthos) and pelagic fishing fish, their “rod” is directed steeply upward, the mouth corresponds dorsoventrally to the depression or compressed body.

Lophiidae is one of the most popular families of anglerfish

This family is in high demand in the fishery in East Asia, Africa, northwestern Europe and eastern North America.

IN North America and Europe, people often prepare dishes from the tail meat of fish of the genus Lophius. In North America, people call this fish goosefish.

Monkfish liver is a delicacy and is called ankimo in Asia. People who live in Japan and Korea consider it a unique dish.

Habitats of the Brachiopod Lophiiformes

Most angler fish can be found in deep sea areas. Ecologists work hard to observe and study this species of fish.

Fish often use deception and waiting strategies when they hunt prey.
When these fish swim, they expend only 2 percent of their energy. Animals remain lethargic, even during feeding and hunting periods.

How a monkfish gets married February 28th, 2015

Sea devils are a group of angler fish. They live on great depth, can withstand enormous pressure and have an extremely unattractive appearance.

But you knew, for example, how anglerfish reproduce. For egg fertilization to occur, two different fish— the male and female monkfish must grow together into one organism.

When a male anglerfish finds a suitable mate, it digs into the female’s stomach and tightly attaches itself to her. Over time, the two fish merge into a single creature with common skin, common blood vessels, etc. At the same time, some organs of the male atrophy - eyes, fins, etc.

It was precisely because sea devils live most of their lives in the form of such a monster creature that scientists at first could not find male anglerfish in nature - they only came across females. It turned out that the males (or rather, what was left of them) were “hiding” inside.

Let's find out more about this fish...

Photo 2.

Are there many people in Russia who can boast that they ate the devil? Apparently, there are no such people at all. And this pleasure is quite accessible to the average European. The fact is that angler although disgusting to look at, but delicious fish. It also lives off our coasts, including in the Barents and even the Black Sea, but here no one specifically catches it.

Angler, or European anglerfish (Lophius piscatorius), is a large fish up to one and a half meters long, two-thirds of which is on the head, and weighs up to 20 kilograms. The mouth is outrageously large and lined with a palisade of sharp teeth. The bare skin with a fringe of leathery lobes gives the fish an extremely disgusting appearance. On the head there is a fishing rod - the first ray of the dorsal fin moved forward, from which hangs an appetizing “bait” - a small leathery bulb. All day long the devil lies motionless on the bottom and patiently waits for some fish to be tempted by his bait. Then, without hesitation, it opens its mouth and swallows the prey.

Photo 3.

European angler belongs to the family of angler fish. They live at a depth of 50-200 meters and are considered quite common inhabitants of coastal waters. Only recently has it become known that their close relatives live in the depths of the ocean. They were called deep-sea anglers. About 120 species are now known. These amazing creatures are classified as small or very small fish. Females range in length from 5-10 to 20-40 centimeters, only the ciracy grows up to a meter, and males are dwarfs measuring 14-22 millimeters.

Only females have a fishing rod. Often this gear is clearly divided into a rod, a fishing line and a luminous bait suspended at its end. For each type of angler, the bait has a shape and size unique to these fish and emits light rays of a strictly defined color. The bait is a bag filled with mucus in which glowing bacteria live. In order to emit light, bacteria need oxygen. When the anglerfish has had lunch and is busy digesting food, it no longer needs light. It can attract the attention of a large predator to the anglerfish. Then the devil is in over his head blood vessels fishing line and temporarily extinguishes his flashlight.

Photo 4.

The rod, located above the fish's head, is directed upward and forward, and the bait dangles near the mouth. This is where gullible game is lured. Gigantaxis have a rod with a fishing line that is 4 times longer than the fish itself. This allows you to cast the bait far and, teasing the prey, lure it to its mouth, which is always ready to open. Each type of bait attracts a very specific game. This is confirmed by the fact that in the stomachs of some anglers there are constantly found fish that are rarely caught in deep-sea trawls and are considered very rare.

Everything about deep-sea anglerfish is unusual, especially reproduction. Males and females are so different from each other that they were previously considered different types fish When the male becomes an adult, he goes in search of a female. At the grooms big eyes and an impressive olfactory organ that help locate the female. For a tiny fish, finding a bride is a difficult task. Nobody knows how much time they spend on this. It is not surprising that, having found a bride, the male immediately sinks his teeth into her.

Soon the male’s lips and tongue grow onto his wife’s body, and she takes her husband as her full dependent. Through the vessels grown into his body, the female supplies him with everything he needs. The male no longer needs the jaws, intestines and eyes, and they atrophy. In the male’s body, only the heart and gills continue to work, helping to supply oxygen to his body, and even the testes. During breeding, the female spawns eggs, and the male regularly waters them with milk.

Spawning takes place at great depths, but the eggs are lighter than water and float to its surface. Here they hatch into larvae. They feed intensely, grow quickly and gradually drown until they return to their homeland in their favorite depths.

Photo 6.

Some species of deep-sea anglerfish are considered edible. They are caught in the USA, Africa and East Asia. Particularly popular in North America is meat from the tail of the anglerfish, which is called Monkfish or Goosefish. It tastes like lobster meat. In Japan and Korea, goose fish liver is a delicacy.

White, dense, boneless and extremely tender meat of this fish can do honor to anyone. festive table. It is suitable for frying in pieces and opened in the shape of a butterfly, or for grilling, cut into cubes and placed on skewers, as well as for boiling and stewing. Monkfish is especially popular in France, where the meat from its tail is prepared in many ways, for example with boiled vegetables, and the head, if you can get it, is used for soup.

Photo 7.

Why is monkfish called "tail fish"
The fishermen quickly deal with the monster's head. All that remains of the fish is practically only an edible tail, which goes on sale without the skin. Therefore, monkfish is often called the “tail” fish, whose white, dense, boneless and extremely tender meat can do honor to any holiday table. Being a master of camouflage, the monkfish, with its dark, often spotted, top part body, almost invisible against the background of the bottom of small coastal reservoirs, among stones, pebbles and fucus. There he usually likes to lie, watching for prey. On both sides of the head, along the edges of the jaw and lips, fringed patches of skin hang down, moving in the water like algae. On the sides of the body there are wide fins, and on the back there are thin spines with a spherical thickening at the end, which lure prey. This sea ​​monster can reach 2 m with a weight of 30-40 kg. Smaller specimens usually go on sale. But even a monkfish of this size can swallow enough big fish. They say that in the belly of one monkfish, 65 cm long, a young cod, 58 cm long, was found. Monkfish is found in many seas, mainly in the Atlantic and the North Sea, up to Iceland.

Photo 8.

The monkfish is also called a “frog” because it can jump
Sometimes during a hunt, the monkfish moves in a very unusual way: it jumps along the bottom, pushing off with its pectoral fins. For this they called him “frog”.

Photo 9.

In one species of monkfish, the “fishing rod” is retracted into a special channel on the back. The fish regulates the glow of the bubble by narrowing or expanding the walls of the arteries. And in the bottom-dwelling Galatetauma, the “fishing rod” is generally located in the mouth. Another species uses glowing teeth as bait.

To hunt, it is enough for an anglerfish to swim or rest quietly on the sand, from time to time opening its mouth and swallowing too much. curious fish. She has no chance to escape: the monkfish’s mouth sucks in water along with everything that swims nearby: mollusks, crustaceans, sometimes even stingrays and sharks. A very hungry anglerfish can catch a waterfowl. However, in this case, he often chokes on the feathers and dies.

Photo 10.

The monkfish does not know how to compare the size of its prey with the feeling of hunger. Ichthyologists have more than once observed cases where a predator caught and bit a large fish, much larger than itself, but could not let go due to the structural features of the teeth.

Anglerfish breed as unusually as they hunt. Males do not have “fishing rods” at all, and they themselves are very tiny. While females often reach two meters in length, males rarely exceed 5 millimeters. Each female carries several males: they dig into her, grow together and gradually turn into genitals.

Hungry sea devils are dangerous for scuba divers. They have very poor vision, which is compensated by courage and gluttony, so it is better to stay as far away from a hungry anglerfish as possible.

Photo 11.

However, where does such a big name come from? According to one version, this fish received it for its, to put it mildly, extravagant appearance, even against the generally bright and diverse background of the inhabitants of the depths of the sea. A flat body, a huge ugly head with a huge mouth, in some species making up two-thirds of the total length, crowned with a palisade of sharp teeth, evokes a feeling of horror. These teeth are capable of turning prey into a mess of torn tissue and bones.

Photo 12.

In general, the monkfish is incredibly voracious and therefore boldly rushes even at a seemingly obviously unattainable goal. And in “hungry” moments, a large anglerfish, suffering from an almost complete lack of vision, rises to the upper layers of water from the depths and at such moments it is capable of attacking scuba divers.

You can meet such an inhabitant of the deep sea just at the end of summer, after a grueling hungry spawning, the “devils” go to shallow water, where they eat intensively until the fall, after which they go to wintering in greater depths.

However, compared to sharks, barracudas and octopuses, true sea devils or anglerfish do not pose an immediate danger to humans. Be that as it may, their terrible teeth can disfigure the hand of an unwary fisherman for life. However, the monkfish causes much more damage not to humans, but to other commercial fish species. Thus, there are legends among fishermen that, having fallen into a fishing net, he ate the fish that got there while he was there.

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Photo 20.

Monkfish refers to predatory species fish His distinguishing feature- extremely unattractive appearance. There is a version that the fish received such a formidable name because of its appearance. There are fish at the bottom of the reservoir, hiding between rocks and in the sand. The anglerfish lives almost all over the globe.

Monkfish is a predatory fish with a terrible appearance.

general information

Monkfish belongs to the ray-finned fish anglerfish family. An adult fish grows up to 2 meters in length and weighs at least 20 kg. But most often you come across individuals up to 1 meter in size and weighing up to 10-12 kg. The monkfish has a flattened, disproportionate body and is very big head, which can occupy 2/3 of the body. Painted in Brown color with a greenish or red tint. The abdominal cavity is white.

The mouth is large and wide with sharp and concave teeth. The skin has no scales. The eyes are quite small, seeing almost nothing, and the sense of smell is also very poorly developed. Around the anglerfish's mouth there are folds that periodically move, creating the appearance of algae.

The anglerfish has a disproportionately large head and reaches quite impressive sizes.

Special role The front fin plays a role in the life of a fish. It has six rays, half of which grow separately. One of them hangs forward and forms a fishing rod, thanks to which the fish received another name - the European anglerfish. The rod is equipped with a base, fishing line (the thin part) and a luminous bait.

Habitats

Monkfish lives in many seas and oceans. The European anglerfish is widespread in the Atlantic Ocean. This is where he lives at a depth of 20 meters or more. It is also caught along the coast of European water bodies, in the Barents and North Seas.

Monkfish mainly lives in the Atlantic Ocean, at a depth of 20 meters.

Far Eastern fish species are often found near Japan and Korea. They live in the South China, Yellow and Okhotsk seas. The comfortable depth for them is 40-200 meters.

Hatched young fish differ from adult fish. At first, the fry feed on plankton, live in the upper layers of the reservoir, and when they reach a length of 10 cm, they change appearance. Then they move closer to the bottom and begin to lead predatory image life. In the first year after birth they grow very quickly.

Not long ago, related species of anglerfish were discovered. They began to be called deep-sea anglerfish. Individuals can withstand very high water pressure and are found at a depth of about 2 km.

Diet

In terms of their feeding habits, sea devils are predators. Their main diet consists of bottom fish. First of all, into the devil's stomach fall:

• gerbils;
• cod;
• small slopes;
• acne;
• squid;
• various crustaceans.

Sometimes predators swim to the upper layers of water, where they hunt mackerel and herring.

All individuals hunt from ambush. Thanks to appearance They are hard to spot among rocks and algae. Potential prey is attracted by the luminous bait. When a fish, crustacean or other underwater creature touches the rod, the monkfish suddenly opens its mouth, resulting in a vacuum. After this, the victim, along with a stream of water, ends up in the mouth.

The anglerfish hunts from ambush, luring prey onto a luminous fishing rod.

Monkfish may not move for a long time, waiting for prey. In addition, the fish is able to hold its breath, with pauses between breaths lasting about 2 minutes.

People have long believed that fish open their mouth only when prey approaches. However, scientists have proven that the mouth comes off automatically when any object floats past.

The European anglerfish is very greedy and gluttonous. Sometimes this leads to the death of the individual. Having huge mouths and stomach, the fish can swallow large prey.

Large and sharp teeth simply do not allow the predator to let go of the prey; as a result, it chokes and dies. There have been cases when fishermen found a victim in the stomach of a caught anglerfish that was only 7-10 cm smaller than the monkfish itself.

Types of anglerfish

The anglerfish became famous back in mid-18th century century. To date, 7 species of this inhabitant are known. aquatic fauna:

1. European sea ​​view or linophrine (found in 1758).
2. Southern European anglerfish (1807).
3. American Monkfish (1837).
4. Cape monkfish (1837).
5. Japanese anglerfish (1902).
6. South African anglerfish (1903).
7. Western Atlantic View (1915).

There are several varieties of monkfish, differing in their habitat.

The American bottom dweller belongs to predatory fish and has a body length from 0.8 to 1.3 m with a weight of up to 23 kg. The huge head makes the fish look like a tadpole. The lower jaw is wide and drooping. Interestingly, even with the mouth closed, huge sharp teeth are visible, which are arranged in three rows. The fish lives up to 30 years. It lives along the Atlantic coast at depths of up to 650 meters. The predator feels comfortable at temperatures from 0 to 23 °C.

The European predator grows up to 2 m in length and weighs over 20 kg. The body is flattened, disproportionate. The head can occupy 75% of the total length of the fish. The body has no scales, but there are all sorts of skin growths and bone spines. Gill slits are located just behind the wide pectoral fins, which allow individuals to move and burrow into the ground. Area - Atlantic Ocean washing the shores European countries, the waters of the Baltic, Barents and even the Black Seas.

The length of some species varies from 0.8 to 2 meters.

Far Eastern fish is typical representative Japan, Yellow and East China Seas. The preferred habitat depth is from 50 m to 2 km. Predators of this species grow up to one and a half meters. Like all types of anglerfish, the Far Eastern species has a flattened body. The only difference is the length of the tail - the Japanese one is longer. Sharp and concave teeth are arranged in two rows. The body has a uniform brown tint.

Reproduction of adult fish

To spawn, adult individuals descend to a depth of 400 meters and below. The whole procedure takes place late winter - early summer