Fun Pygmy Anglerfish Facts For Kids

The pygmy anglerfish is a highly elusive fish (behavior). It is a species of frogfish that has only been discovered in recent times and is an Indo-Pacific species. The anglerfish is named after the object that resembles a fishing pole and protrudes from the mouth of the fish. There are adaptations that help this fish to attract prey. As photosynthesis cannot take place in the deep recesses of the ocean, fishes in need of plant matter have to obtain them from the surface. Life in the deeper areas of the ocean and the reef is difficult. This means fishes in the deep ocean are comparatively smaller in size and weight than their surface counterparts. The body of the fish is free to streamline. The creature is found in benthic water. The creature can be seen amongst large coral rubble pieces. It is demersal and is found in a tropical environment. It is not known whether this fish has poison or not. These are now visible in a diver's den along the reef. The visibility has increased in the recent decade.

Like reading this article? Want to know more? Let's move on. If you like reading this article, you may also like reading about the monkfish and the gar.

What type of animal is a pygmy anglerfish?

The pygmy anglerfish is a fish belonging to the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, and order Lophiiformes.

What class of animal does a pygmy anglerfish belong to?

This fish belongs to the superclass Actinopterygii, class Actinopteri, and subclass Neopterygii.

How many pygmy anglerfish are there in the world?

The exact information is not available for the species.

Where does a pygmy anglerfish live?

The pygmy anglerfish is a species of fish found in the Indo-West Pacific Ocean. At present, it is found off the coast of East Africa from Durban to northern Mozambique. It is also found in the Comoro Islands and Aldabra islands in the Western Indian Ocean. It is found in Indonesia in the Molucca Islands and the Hawaiian Islands.

What is a pygmy anglerfish's habitat?

This fish is not a freshwater fish. The pygmy anglerfish habitat is in the oceans and it belongs to the marine biome.

Who do pygmy anglerfish live with?

Mates can be seen together with their bodies fused together.

How long does a pygmy anglerfish live?

The exact information is not available for this fish.

How do they reproduce?

A pygmy anglerfish male is a parasitic mate. It latches onto the body of a pygmy anglerfish female. Procreation follows after this and sometimes the body of the two mates gets fused. These creatures are oviparous.

What is their conservation status?

The fish is Not Evaluated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) because they live in deep regions of the oceans.

What do pygmy anglerfish look like?

The pygmy anglerfish color is beautiful. The females are larger in size than the males. The body is sleek while the head and mouth are big. The fish has dorsal spines, soft dorsal, and anal rays. Vertebrae are present. The body is light brown with numerous, curving, and parallel dark brown lines. Sometimes black blotches are found on the body of the fish. A short caudal pedancle is visible and the second dorsal spine tapers.

How cute are they?

This fish with its gigantic mouth and sharp teeth is not cute.

How do they communicate?

The exact information is not available for this fish.

How big is a pygmy anglerfish?

The pygmy anglerfish is 2.95 in (7.5 cm) in length. It is smaller than the sea devil.

How fast can a pygmy anglerfish swim?

The exact information is not available for this fish. However, they are known to be fast swimmers.

How much does a pygmy anglerfish weigh?

The exact information is not available for this fish.

What are the male and female names of the species?

There are no specific names for either sex.

What would you call a baby pygmy anglerfish?

A baby anglerfish is called a fry.

What do they eat?

The pygmy anglerfish is a carnivore by diet. These fishes feed on small fishes, worms, snails, and other marine organisms. This creature can eat shrimp.

Are they dangerous?

They are not harmful to humans.

Would they make a good pet?

While you can also have a live rock marine aquarium tank to keep a pygmy anglerfish, it is not clear if they would make good pets. The environment and living conditions they usually inhabit cannot be replicated in a tank. Moreover, the species has been observed to be extremely aggressive, and therefore finding tankmates for this fish might be a problem.

Did you know...

Anglerfish are found in aquariums and tanks. Feeding them frozen food and shrimp is good. Although pygmy anglerfish care is pretty difficult, they can be found at pet shops.

Many diseases can harm this fish. Dangerous diseases can often lead to life and death situations for this fish.

Is the pygmy anglerfish endangered?

The exact information is not available for this fish. The IUCN has listed them as Not Evaluated because they are found in deep regions of the oceans.

What's the difference between an anglerfish and pygmy anglerfish?

The pygmy anglerfish is smaller in size than the anglerfish.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these pilchard facts and ocean sunfish facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable koi fish coloring

*We've been unable to source an image of pygmy anglerfish and have used an image of frogfish instead. If you are able to provide us with a royalty-free image of pygmy anglerfish, we would be happy to credit you. Please contact us at [email protected].