Toothy Anglerfish Grins at Hercules' Camera
This anglerfish (Sladenia sp.), first identified as a batfish, was first recorded on video over 1,000 meters deep and has hands down the coolest facial expression underwater! Learn all about this toothy benthic creature from this video, including its adaptations for bursts of ambush speed, spiky teeth for catching small invertebrates and fish, and of course that famous lure!
This video was taken during our expedition on and near Kingman Reef National Wildlife Refuge. More than 225 fish species have been recorded in this region, including sharks, rays, eels, groupers, jacks, goatfishes, butterflyfishes, damselfishes, mullets, wrasses, parrotfishes, surgeonfishes, and tuna. The Refuge also supports a sizable population of bottle-nosed dolphins and melon-headed whales, as well as several species of giant clams.
Learn more about this expedition funded by NOAA Ocean Exploration via the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute.
Kingman Reef & Palmyra Atoll
The deep-water areas around Kingman Reef and Palmyra Atoll are within one of the largest marine protected areas in the world, the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument (PRIMNM). Despite a growing number of expeditions to explore deep-sea environments of the PRIMNM, including a 2019 Nautilus expedition, many areas remain unexplored.
