Anglerfish Galore in the Deep-Sea!
There’s no doubt that anglerfish are some of the most enigmatic creatures found in the deep sea. During our ROV dive on an unnamed flat-topped seamount northwest of Wake Atoll (the first known visual exploration here), our Corps of Exploration came across three different individual anglerfish. All anglerfish, including the Sladenia and Solocisquama seen in this video, belong to the order Lophiiformes.
First, at 998 meters (3,274 feet), is a well-camouflaged spotted Sladenia fish hiding amongst the seafloor rocks. Like other anglerfish, they use their lures to attract prey. The next, especially tiny, individual was spotted at 988 meters (3,241 feet) deep; note the barb-like, pointed cirri filaments across its front.
After that, we found a pink Solocisquama anglerfish at 870 meters (2,854 feet) deep. They may look different, but like Sladenia, Solocisquama has its own lure developed from a modified dorsal fin ray used to attract prey. Lastly, at 866 meters (2,841 feet), we have what we think to be another Sladenia, and if you look closely, you might just be able to spot its nearly invisible lure.
Ocean Exploration Trust's Exploration of Wake Island's Deep-Sea expedition is supported by NOAA Ocean Exploration via the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute.
Exploration of Wake Island's Deep Sea
Located roughly midway between the Hawaiian and Mariana Islands, Wake Island is one of the most isolated land masses on Earth. While there have been some recent expeditions to this remote region, the vast majority of the 407,241 square kilometers of seafloor surrounding Wake remains unmapped and uncharacterized, thereby representing one of the most poorly surveyed areas under US jurisdiction.
