This creature goes by several different names: Johnson\u2019s abyssal seadevil, humpback anglerfish and black seadevil anglerfish. None of them are particularly endearing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That\u2019s possibly down to the fact that this deep-sea fish looks like the creature from the black lagoon\u2026 if you chopped off its head, added a gleaming fishing rod and left it bobbing through the deep-sea.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Although they might not look so pretty, these anglerfish are among the most fascinating creatures in the ocean.<\/p>\n
What is\u00a0Johnson\u2019s abyssal seadevil?<\/p>\n
Well, it\u2019s either something from your darkest nightmares or a peculiar fish that\u2019s found strange ways of adapting to life in the deep sea \u2013 marine scientists would say it\u2019s the latter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There are hundreds of different species of\u00a0anglerfish<\/a>\u00a0but the black seadevil is, arguably, the one that comes to mind when we think of deep-sea anglerfish.\u00a0<\/p>\n Credit: MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder but there are probably very few people who could say \u2013 hand-on-heart \u2013 that these deep-sea denizens look appealing.\u00a0<\/p>\n With their round, black bodies, cavernous mouths crammed with sharp teeth and glowing lure dangling above their head, these animals tick all the boxes for what you would imagine when picturing a deep-sea anglerfish. If you\u2019re still struggling to imagine one, picture the monstrous beast that tries to snap up Marlin and Dory in\u00a0Finding Nemo<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n But the question of what they look like isn\u2019t quite that simple. A black seadevil\u2019s appearance differs depending on whether you\u2019re looking at a male or a female because they are sexually dimorphic<\/a>: males and females have different physical characteristics (think\u00a0lions<\/a>,\u00a0peacocks<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0elephant seals<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n In this particular species<\/a>, one key difference between the sexes is size. Females are around 18cm long, making them almost as large as a volleyball. Males, by comparison, reach just 3cm \u2013 smaller than a ping pong ball.<\/p>\n The male lacks the iconic luminous lure we know and love anglerfish for. He has much larger eyes and nostrils than the female. That\u2019s because his life is centred around finding a female to breed with, sniffing her out in the dark waters. Once he\u2019s found his beau, he chomps onto her body and feasts, giving her his sperm in exchange.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The female, however, is more focused on finding food. She uses a special glowing organ known as an esca to attract prey, dangling this gleaming lure from a modified dorsal spine called an illicium \u2013 like bait on a fishing rod.\u00a0<\/p>\n Where do Johnson’s abyssal seadevils\u00a0live?\u00a0<\/p>\n The chances of ever seeing one of these strange beasts is slim to none because they are typically found in the ocean\u2019s\u00a0twilight<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0midnight<\/a>\u00a0zones, hundreds or thousands of metres below the surface.<\/p>\n But sometimes they end up in the wrong place. In 2025, marine scientists out looking for sharks were gobsmacked when they filmed one of these grisly girls swimming through the shallows in Tenerife\u00a0in broad daylight<\/a>\u00a0(we know she was female because of her size and lure).<\/p>\n What do Johnson’s abyssal seadevils eat?\u00a0<\/p>\n Small, deep-sea fish and crustaceans.\u00a0<\/p>\n How do Johnson’s abyssal seadevils hunt?<\/p>\n Rather than waste precious energy swimming around after prey, black seadevils put on a show to make their dinner come to them.\u00a0<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve seen\u00a0Finding Nemo,\u00a0you\u2019ll know exactly what dastardly techniques they use to trick prey into coming closer \u2013 but let\u2019s spell it out in case you haven\u2019t.\u00a0These fish blend seamlessly into the dark waters of the deep sea thanks to their black bodies \u2013 but one thing stands out: the esca. This is a bulb-like organ that glows thanks to bioluminescent bacteria living inside.\u00a0<\/p>\n They dangle their radiant esca from a modified dorsal spine on their head called the illicium. And then they just wait, wiggling the esca now and again to make it look more like a small animal swimming through the water.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The idea is to trick another animal into coming close enough to try to eat this tasty snack. As soon as they do, the anglerfish traps them in its ominous jaws.\u00a0<\/p>\n How do Johnson’s abyssal seadevils reproduce?<\/p>\n If you thought their hunting strategy was wild, strap in, because things are about to get weirder. Males of this species are all about one thing: finding a female to mate with.\u00a0They have a good sense of smell (hence the large nostrils) which help them sniff out the chemical cues from a lover in the vastness of the ocean.\u00a0<\/p>\n Once they find a female, they attach themselves to her body by giving her a little love bite. During this temporary bond, the male releases his sperm while also receiving nutrients from his mate.\u00a0<\/p>\n Somewhat horrifyingly, in some other species of deep-sea anglerfish (but not the humpback anglerfish), this little chomp begins a process of fusion. His tissues dissolve into hers and he eventually becomes nothing more than a small, portable ball sack, allowing her to reproduce when she wants to.\u00a0<\/p>\n Thankfully for Johnson\u2019s abyssal seadevil males, though, they\u2019re free to swim away once they\u2019ve done their duty. This might be a particular relief to the male\u00a0Melanocetus johnsonii\u00a0that \u2013 presumably accidentally \u2013 tried to get it on with a horned lantern fish (Centrophryne spinulosa). Although this is a deep-sea anglerfish too, it\u2019s an entirely different species. Awkward mistake to make if you were then bonded for life.\u00a0<\/p>\n Are Johnson’s abyssal seadevils dangerous to humans?<\/p>\n No. Their gaping jaws and unsightly underbite might look monstrous to us but these animals have zero interest in trying to attack a human.\u00a0<\/p>\n Plus, most people will never set eyes on these rarely seen creatures. The species was only caught on video alive and in its natural habitat for the first time in November 2014 when MBARI scientists were using an underwater robot (remotely operated vehicle\u00a0or ROV) to explore the waters off Monterey Bay, California, around 580m deep. It\u2019s only been filmed in the wild a few times since.\u00a0<\/p>\n Are Johnson’s abyssal seadevils under threat?\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to know because of how difficult it is to measure population sizes in these deep, remote habitats but scientists don\u2019t think so. These animals are categorised as a species of least concern by the IUCN Red List.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n Top image: Humpback anglerfish (Melanocetus johnsonii), a species of black seadevil (Melanocetidae). Credit: August Brauer (1863\u20131917): Die Tiefsee-Fische. I. Systematischer Teil.. In C. Chun. Wissenschaftl. Ergebnisse der deutschen Tiefsee-Expedition ‘Valdivia’, 1898-99, 1906. Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This creature goes by several different names: Johnson\u2019s abyssal seadevil, humpback anglerfish and black seadevil anglerfish. 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\nWhat do Johnson’s abyssal seadevils look like?<\/p>\n