---
title: "What the sources say about the Humpback Anglerfish | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "51 claims from the Humpback Anglerfish profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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---

# What the sources say about the Humpback Anglerfish (*Melanocetus johnsonii*)

> 51 claims from the Humpback Anglerfish profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Humpback Anglerfish](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/humpback-anglerfish/)

## Humpback Blackdevil, Melanocetus johnsonii Gunther, 1864. Australian Museum.

https://australian.museum/learn/animals/fishes/humpback-blackdevil-melanocetus-johnsonii-gunther-1864/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The female wears a lure on her snout and can swallow a fish longer than herself. | There is a short illicium with a bulbous esca on the snout. (note: lure = illicium and esca; the swallowing half is claimed to FishBase below) |
| The female humpback anglerfish is a soft-bodied fish with no scales and no pelvic fins. | The Humpback Blackdevil is a soft-bodied fish that lacks scales and pelvic fins. Females have a large head and mouth, with long pointed teeth. |
| Live fish are black | Live fish are black. |
| She has a large head, a big mouth and long pointed teeth. | Females have a large head and mouth, with long pointed teeth. |
| On her snout sits a short rod called an illicium, tipped with a bulb called an esca. | There is a short illicium with a bulbous esca on the snout. |
| Females grow to 18 cm. | Females grow to 18 cm in length but males only grow to 2.9 cm. |
| Males are slender, have no lure and only reach 2.9 cm. | Males, however, are slender fish that lack a lure and only grow to 2.9 cm. |
| In Australia it is known off central to southern New South Wales and near Norfolk Island. | In Australia it is known from off central to southern New South Wales and near Norfolk Island. |
| 2.9 cm at most, against her 18 cm | Females grow to 18 cm in length but males only grow to 2.9 cm. |
| A male lacks a lure | Males, however, are slender fish that lack a lure and only grow to 2.9 cm. |
| Males and females look very different. | Male and female Humpback Blackdevils look very different. |
| Only the female carries the illicium and esca. | Males, however, are slender fish that lack a lure (note: female lure: 'There is a short illicium with a bulbous esca on the snout' in the females' description) |
| The female humpback anglerfish carries a lure on her snout | There is a short illicium with a bulbous esca on the snout. (note: vibe.reason) |

## Melanocetus johnsonii, Humpback anglerfish. FishBase.

https://www.fishbase.se/summary/2292

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The female wears a lure on her snout and can swallow a fish longer than herself. | Capable of catching and swallowing prey larger than itself, as witness the approximately 24.0 cm SL specimen of Chauliodus sp. in the stomach of a 6.6 cm SL individual |
| Tropical to temperate oceans worldwide, usually at depths of 100 to 1,500 m | depth range 100 - 4500 m (Ref. 74511 ), usually 100 - 1500 m (note: 1,500 m is FishBase's 1500 m) |
| Tropical to temperate oceans worldwide, usually at depths of 100 to 1,500 m | Tropical to temperate parts of all oceans. (note: 1,500 m is FishBase's 1500 m) |
| Includes fish longer than itself | Capable of catching and swallowing prey larger than itself, as witness the approximately 24.0 cm SL specimen of Chauliodus sp. in the stomach of a 6.6 cm SL individual |
| Swallows prey longer than itself | Capable of catching and swallowing prey larger than itself |
| the genus name Melanocetus comes from Greek words for "black" and "large sea creature" | Melanocetus: Greek, 'melas' or 'melanos' = black + Greek, 'ketos' = any large sea creature |
| They are also dwarfed and non-parasitic, meaning they do not live off the female. | Males dwarfed and non-parasitic (note: 'so they do not live off the female' only defines non-parasitic) |
| Her eggs are presumably held in floating gelatinous rafts. | Eggs are presumably contained in floating gelatinous rafts |
| The larvae are planktonic | Oviparous, with planktonic larvae |
| they are found mostly in the top 100 m of water | Larvae are found primarily in upper 100 m |
| The species is capable of catching and swallowing prey larger than itself. | Capable of catching and swallowing prey larger than itself |
| FishBase gives one case: a 6.6 cm individual with a Chauliodus of about 24 cm in its stomach, more than three times its length. | the approximately 24.0 cm SL specimen of Chauliodus sp. in the stomach of a 6.6 cm SL individual (note: more than three times: 24.0 / 6.6 = 3.6, both standard lengths) |
| The species lives in tropical to temperate parts of all oceans. | Tropical to temperate parts of all oceans. |
| It is usually found between 100 and 1,500 m, with a recorded range of 100 to 4,500 m. | depth range 100 - 4500 m (Ref. 74511 ), usually 100 - 1500 m |
| Yes. One humpback anglerfish of just 6.6 cm was found with a Chauliodus of roughly 24 cm in its stomach, a meal more than three times its own length. | Capable of catching and swallowing prey larger than itself, as witness the approximately 24.0 cm SL specimen of Chauliodus sp. in the stomach of a 6.6 cm SL individual (note: more than three times: 24.0 / 6.6 = 3.6, both standard lengths) |
| has been recorded as deep as 4,500 m | depth range 100 - 4500 m (Ref. 74511 ), usually 100 - 1500 m (note: vibe.reason) |

## Orlov et al. (2015). First record of humpback anglerfish (Melanocetus johnsonii) (Melanocetidae) in Antarctic waters. Polar Research.

https://doi.org/10.3402/polar.v34.25356

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The toothfish was caught on a bottom longline at 1,243 to 1,355 m. | caught on 6 January 2014 by bottom longline (set no. 25) from the fishing vessel Ugulan at 1243 ... 1355 m depth |
| Scientists confirmed the anglerfish's identity from the structure of its esca and from a gene called COI. | Species identification is confirmed by the structure of the escal bulb and analysis of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene. |
| The anglerfish measured 157 mm and weighed 290 g. | a total length (TL) of 157 mm (SL 133 mm) and body weight of 290 g |
| In January 2014 a fishing vessel in the Ross Sea caught an Antarctic toothfish with one inside its stomach. | was found in the stomach of an Antarctic toothfish ( Dissostichus mawsoni ) with a TL of 138 cm and a body weight of 28 kg, caught on 6 January 2014 by bottom longline |
| Researchers called it the first record of the species in Antarctic waters. | The first record of the humpback anglerfish ( Melanocetus johnsonii ) in Antarctic waters (Ross Sea) is documented. |
| It pushed the known range south by more than 1,000 nautical miles. | This record extends the known range of M. johnsonii by more than 1000 nm to the south. |
| In 2014 one turned up in the stomach | was found in the stomach of an Antarctic toothfish ( Dissostichus mawsoni ) with a TL of 138 cm and a body weight of 28 kg, caught on 6 January 2014 |
| a 138 cm Antarctic toothfish in the Ross Sea | an Antarctic toothfish ( Dissostichus mawsoni ) with a TL of 138 cm |
| the first record in Antarctic waters | The first record of the humpback anglerfish ( Melanocetus johnsonii ) in Antarctic waters (Ross Sea) is documented. |

## Pietsch (2009). Oceanic Anglerfishes: Extraordinary Diversity in the Deep Sea, Introduction and Historical Perspective. University of California Press.

https://content.ucpress.edu/chapters/10866.ch01.pdf

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| She belongs to the ceratioids, a group of deep-sea anglerfishes. | two female ceratioid anglerfishes (Linophryne and Melanocetus) |
| Ceratioids have a bacterial light organ that serves as bait to attract prey. | Ceratioid anglerfishes differ further from their less-derived bottom-dwelling relatives in having a bacterial light-organ that serves as bait to attract prey |
| Albert Günther described the species in 1864 | brought to London from Madeira by James Yates Johnson (c. 1820–1900) and described by Günther in 1864 |
| a 64 mm female that James Yates Johnson brought from Madeira | Günther’s holotype of Melanocetus johnsonii , female, 64 mm SL, BMNH 1864.7.18.6, brought to London from Madeira by James Yates Johnson |
| Its big belly held a fish, rolled into a ball, nearly twice the length of the anglerfish. | remarkable for its large pendulous belly—which when opened was found to contain, “rolled up spirally into a ball, a Scopeline fish” nearly twice the length of the angler |
| Günther named it for Johnson. | named Melanocetus johnsonii in honor of its collector |
| Its big belly held a fish, rolled into a ball, nearly twice the length | “rolled up spirally into a ball, a Scopeline fish” nearly twice the length of the angler |
| can swallow a fish longer than herself | “rolled up spirally into a ball, a Scopeline fish” nearly twice the length of the angler |
| Includes fish longer than itself | “rolled up spirally into a ball, a Scopeline fish” nearly twice the length of the angler |
| Swallows prey longer than itself | “rolled up spirally into a ball, a Scopeline fish” nearly twice the length of the angler |

## Hendry et al. (2018). Ongoing Transposon-Mediated Genome Reduction in the Luminous Bacterial Symbionts of Deep-Sea Ceratioid Anglerfishes.

https://doi.org/10.1128/mbio.01033-18

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| tags: bioluminescent | we generated and analyzed de novo genome sequences for the light organ symbionts from two distantly related ceratioid host species, two individuals of Cryptopsaras couesii (Ceratiidae) and one individual Melanocetus johnsonii (Melanocetidae) (note: tags, task #986: species-level source for the luminous light organ (the paper's title names the symbionts luminous); replaces the ceratioid-scope Pietsch quote as the tag's support) |

## Arnold (2015). Melanocetus johnsonii. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T18127840A21911455.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2015-4.rlts.t18127840a21911455.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). (note: GBIF's copy of the Red List, checked against IUCN taxon 18127840 inside the DOI) |
| The IUCN Red List rates the species Least Concern. | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). (note: GBIF's copy of the Red List, checked against IUCN taxon 18127840 inside the DOI) |