Horned lantern fish facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Horned lantern fish |
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The horned lantern fish or prickly seadevil (Centrophryne spinulosa) is a unique deep-sea fish. It's a type of anglerfish that lives in the deepest parts of the ocean all around the world. This fish is the only species in its entire family, called Centrophrynidae. It stands out from other deep-sea anglerfishes because of special features like its unique fin bones, a small spine on its gill cover, and a short chin "whisker" (called a hyoid barbel) that both males and females have.
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Where the Horned Lantern Fish Lives
The horned lantern fish has been found in many different parts of the Pacific Ocean. This includes areas from Baja California down to the Marquesas Islands and the Gulf of California. Scientists have also caught these fish in places like New Guinea, the South China Sea, Venezuela, and the Mozambique Channel. This shows that they live across a wide area in warm, tropical, and subtropical ocean waters.
These fish usually live very deep in the ocean. They have been found at depths from about 650 meters (2,130 feet) to over 2,000 meters (6,560 feet). However, their tiny babies (larvae) have been seen much closer to the surface, sometimes as shallow as 35 meters (115 feet) deep.
What the Horned Lantern Fish Looks Like
The horned lantern fish looks quite different depending on if it's a male or a female.
Female Horned Lantern Fish
Female horned lantern fish can grow up to 23 centimeters (9 inches) long. They have a long, thin body with a very large head. Their jaws are the same length and are full of many thin, curved teeth. These teeth are different sizes, some large and some small, and they can bend backward.
Females also have a large oval pit in front of each eye, especially if they are larger than 42 millimeters (about 1.6 inches). Their eyes are actually hidden under their skin and can be seen through a clear patch. The fish's body color ranges from reddish-brown to black. Its skin is covered with many tiny, close-set spines, which is why it's sometimes called the "prickly seadevil."
A special feature of the female is her "fishing rod" (called an illicium) and "lure" (called an esca). These are attached to her snout. The lure has a fan-shaped part in the front and a short part in the back. The tip of the lure is white with dark spots. Females also have a small chin "whisker" (hyoid barbel), but it's very tiny in adult females.
Male Horned Lantern Fish
Male horned lantern fish are much, much smaller than females. They are dark brown and only grow up to about 1.6 centimeters (0.6 inches) long. Unlike the females, males do not have the "fishing rod" or "lure."
All the male specimens found so far are still young. Even so, they have large organs for smelling and special plates with 3-4 curved teeth on the tip of their snout. Their unique chin "whisker" (hyoid barbel) helps scientists tell them apart from males of other deep-sea anglerfish species.
The two known baby horned lantern fish (larvae) were found to be 4.2 millimeters and 7.5 millimeters long. They have short, stout bodies with slightly puffy skin.
Life and Habits
Like other deep-sea anglerfish, the males of the horned lantern fish are known to attach themselves to females. This is a special way they reproduce. One female horned lantern fish was even found with a male of a different anglerfish species attached to her. However, this was likely a mistake, perhaps happening when both fish were caught in a fishing net, as their body tissues had not joined together.
The exact purpose of the chin "whisker" (hyoid barbel) in the horned lantern fish is still a mystery. The only other deep-sea anglerfish that have a hyoid barbel are the linophrynids. In those fish, the barbel is only found in females and is often fancy or can even glow in the dark (bioluminescent).
