Monkfish: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

Monkfish is the common name of a number of different species of fish.

Most of the fish referred to as monkfish belong to the genus Lophius, in the goosefish family Lophiidae. They are also known as anglerfish, and this name is more often used scientifically, monkfish being the preferred name when the fish is used as food. They are an important table fish; this is what you should be eating if monkfish appears on a restaurant menu.

A second group of fish known as monkfish are members of the genus Squatina, in the angel shark family Squatinidae. These are of somewhat similar shape to the angler fish, but completely unrelated; like the true sharks, they are Elasmobranches. These fish are only of minor significance for human consumption, though they are endangered because they are caught as bycatch by trawlers.

The present article deals with the monkfish in genus Lophius. The species caught in North American waters is usually Lophius americanus; that caught in Europe is Lophius piscatorius. The culinary use of the two species is similar. Their appearance is unusual as they are "mostly head", and they are known for their large mouths and relatively ugly appearance. However, the tail meat is widely used in cooking, is often compared to lobster tail in taste and texture. It is therefore sometimes referred to as "poor man's lobster." It is mostly found in the coastal Atlantic areas.

The majority of anglerfish are deep sea fish and thus live in the aphotic zone, i.e. at depths where effectively no sunlight penetrates. The lack of light causes difficulties in both feeding and breeding, but the anglerfishes have overcome these problems. Anglerfish all have a 'fishing pole' that extends from the head and has a fleshy part on the end that is lit with bioluminescence and can be moved to resemble a prey item for other organisms. When a curious or hungry creature moves close enough to take a look at the lure, the anglerfish pounces, capturing the unwary victim.

Some anglerfish have a unique mating method. Without light, finding a mate is a problem, especially at a time when both individuals are ready to spawn. When scientists first started capturing members of a specific group of anglerfishes, they noticed that all of the specimens were females. These individuals were a few inches in size and almost all of them had what appeared to be parasites attached to them. It turns out that these were the males. When a male anglerfish is hatched, he has extremely well developed organs that detect scents in the water. He has no digestive system. His goal in life is to detect the pheromones that the female anglerfishes release. When he finds a female (and if he doesn't, he dies), he bites into her flank which releases an enzyme that digests the skin of his mouth and her body. The two then fuse together, including blood vessels. The male degenerates into nothing more than a pair of gonads that releases sperm when the female releases hormones into the bloodstream that signals she is ready to release her eggs.

See also: Lophiiformes