The deep-sea fish that hunts with a glowing lure
This deep-sea monster fishes with a glowing lure on its head — and the males fuse into its body forever.
The short version
The deep-sea anglerfish dangles a glowing, bacteria-filled lure to draw prey into its needle-toothed mouth, and can swallow victims twice its size. The tiny male bites onto a female and permanently fuses to her body, dissolving into a sperm-supplying appendage.
Why it's so weird
- ✓The Anglerfish fishes with a glowing lure that grows right out of its own forehead.
- ✓The Anglerfish glows because the bulb on its lure is packed with living bacteria, dangled like bait.
- ✓The Anglerfish can swallow prey twice its own size by stretching its stomach.
- ✓The Anglerfish lures curious prey into the light, straight into a mouth full of long, needle-like teeth.
- ✓The Anglerfish ends up with a tiny male permanently fused into its body, dissolving into a sperm-supplying appendage.
The full story
Deep in the pitch-black ocean, this monster goes fishing with a glowing rod on its own head. Meet the anglerfish, one of the strangest predators in the entire deep sea. A long spine grows out of its forehead, tipped with a bulb full of glowing bacteria that it dangles like living bait. Curious prey swim toward the light, straight into a mouth full of long, needle-like teeth that snap shut in an instant. Its stomach can stretch so much that it swallows victims twice its own size. But the weirdest part is its love life. The male is tiny, and when he finally finds a female in the darkness, he bites onto her body and never lets go. His skin fuses to hers, his organs dissolve, and he becomes a permanent part of her, just supplying sperm for the rest of her life. Follow for more weird animal facts.
Watch the 45-second version
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