The Poor Life Of The Male Anglerfish

The anglerfish, otherwise known as Melanocetus Johnsoni, is the most disgusting looking creature that cruises the depths from 200 meters to 1000 meters below the surface of the ocean. The male anglerfish has possibly the worst existence in the world. In the world of the anglerfish the female is the one with the lure. The male anglerfish does not carry a lure, and it will remain smaller than one tenth the size of the female. There are 15-30 available males per female. So once the male quickly matures into an adult it is constantly on the hunt for the elusive and rare female. So not only is the male looking for the rare female but since becoming an adult the male anglerfish’s digestive system has shut down meaning it must find a female or starve to death. Once a female anglerfish has been spotted by the male, the male will swim up and bite the female. The male with its hooked teeth will latch on to the belly of the female. After a while the skin of the male will start to fuse with skin of the female until the two become one. The male anglerfish is now just riding shotgun in the life of the female, basically a parasite with only the reproductive organs remaining. A female anglerfish can have up to 6 males stored in her body at a time. The female can call on those males at a time of her choosing to reproduce and that is the cycle of life for the male anglerfish. The male anglerfish obviously has received the crap end of the stick of life.

T Rev