Black seadevil

Black seadevils
Humpback anglerfish, Melanocetus johnsonii
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Lophiiformes
Suborder:	Ceratioidei
Family:	Melanocetidae T. N. Gill, 1879
Genus:	Melanocetus Günther, 1864
Type species
Melanocetus johnsonii Günther, 1864
Species
See text.

The black seadevils are a genus of anglerfish that live in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans. Only one species, M. rossi, lives in the Ross Sea.

Description

These fish are called "black seadevils" because of their vicious-looking appearance, which is signified by their sharp teeth. They have round bodies and a bioluminescent appendage.

Species

The genus contains 6 species:

• Melanocetus eustalus Pietsch & Van Duzer, 1980
• Melanocetus johnsonii Günther, 1864 (Humpback anglerfish)
• Melanocetus murrayi Günther, 1887 (Murray's abyssal anglerfish)
• Melanocetus niger Regan, 1925
• Melanocetus polyactis Regan, 1925
• Melanocetus rossi Balushkin & Fedorov, 1981 (Ross Sea anglerfish)

Gallery

• 
  Melanocetus murrayi
• 
  Melanocetus eustalus
• 
  Melanocetus johnsonii

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Melanocetus.

1. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Melanocetus". FishBase. April 2012 version.
2. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Melanocetus johnsonii, Humpback anglerfish" Archived 2024-11-27 at the Wayback Machine. FishBase. 2015 version.
3. "Elusive Black Seadevil gets close up".

Other websites

• Black Seadevils, iNaturalist