Don't mess with the anglerfish!

Deep, deep, deep in the ocean where there is total darkness, there are creatures who carry their own light sources. The female anglerfish, pictured here, is one of them. She has a bioluminescent organ floating over her head which she uses as a lure to catch her prey with those large, nasty looking jaws. With over 200 species of anglerfish, some of these ladies can grow to be over three feet long, though most are much smaller.

The male of the specie is considerably smaller than the female, has no “fishing rod” but still has sharp teeth which he uses to attach himself to the female for mating purposes. He is eventually absorbed completely into her body, forfeiting all his organs except his testes.

Some species of anglerfish live at depths of up to a mile in the Atlantic and Antarctic Oceans while other inhabit shallower tropical waters.

Reference: National Geographic, Monterey Bay Aquarium