This small deep-sea anglerfish, Chaunacops
coloratus, was first observed at Davidson
Seamount in 2002 by scientists from the Monterey
Bay Aquarium Research Institute, the Monterey
Bay National Marine Sanctuary, and Moss Landing
Marine Laboratories.
Although it was first described from a single
specimen collected off Panama in 1899, we
had no idea that these fish existed in our
waters off California, far to the north.
In fact, it took us a while to figure out
exactly what species this fish was and to
do so we needed help from several ichthyologists.
In 2010 we observed 6 more at Taney Seamounts,
also off California.
We were able to collect specimens and make
observations about behavior which had never
been done before.
We realized immediately that not all of these
were red or rose colored as we had previously
thought they should be; some were actually
blue.
We believe the larger, mature looking fish
are red while the smaller, immature fish are
blue and we propose that this notable color
change is associated with age and a transition
from a drifting juvenile phase to a benthic
adult phase.
Often, when startled by our remotely operated
vehicle, an escape response was elicited and
the fish bolted from the seafloor, straight
up in a great burst of speed.
We timed one of these ascents and found that
this little fish could travel as fast as 7
feet per minute!
We also observed a maneuvering behavior akin
to walking, which is quite common among its
shallow-water siblings, the frogfish.
Scientists think that 'walking' is more energy
efficient than swimming and that it also disturbs
the surrounding seawater less, reducing the
chances of startling nearby prey.
One of the remarkable traits that all of the
anglerfish have in common is the ability to
'fish' for prey.
The anglerfish deploys a lure, called an esca,
which it dangles from the end of a modified
dorsal fin ray, called an illicium.
We observed one of these anglerfish deploying
its shaggy, mop-like lure just above its mouth.
It deployed its lure for about 25 seconds
and then stowed it in its illicial cavity
after an unsuccessful attempt at attracting
prey.
We also used traditional measurements and
modern molecular tools to verify that this
species was what we thought it was and to
verify its relationship to the other fishes
within its family.
These 7 observations by MBARI are the first
and only time this species has ever been observed
alive, in its natural habitat at depths of
7,500 – nearly 18,000 ft below the oceans
surface.
We used these modern tools to show that the
scientist who originally described this species
way back in 1899 got it right!
For MBARI, this is Lonny Lundsten.
