Anglerfish

Anglerfish

Anglerfish
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 3 to 6
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	8.19

Vocabulary

challenging words:

doubt, boredom, convention, flesh, hence, literally, modify, species, strategy, unsuspecting, among, lower, traditional, chasing, dwell, swallow

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Spanish: El Pejesapo

Anglerfish

¹     Anglerfish, without a doubt, are among the most creative fish on Earth! Instead of looking for prey actively, anglerfish have a brilliant hunting technique. They first camouflage their bodies to blend in well with the surroundings, and then they modify the foremost spine of their dorsal fins to look like a baited fishing rod. When wriggling it, anglerfish fool other fishes into believing that they have just caught a glimpse of a worm. As an unsuspecting victim prepares to get a good bite of the worm, it is in for a big surprise! To its horror, the worm it sees is not a worm at all! On the contrary, it is a trap set up by anglerfish. Of course, by now, it is too late for the poor fish to turn around and speed away. Conceding to its unfortunate fate, the fish becomes the fallen prey of anglerfish.

²     Does the anglerfish's way of searching for food remind you of any human activity? That's right, as we hold onto a fishing pole and lower a baited hook into the water, we are trying to lure a fish to come and eat the enticement. With patience and luck, we can walk away with a pail full of fish. Anglerfish' ingenious method of food gathering is just like an angler's approach to catching fish. That's how anglerfish got their name.

³     There are about 200 different species of anglerfish in the world. Aside from their famous fishing tools, anglerfish are characterized as having large heads, huge mouths, and heavyset bodies. They can grow up to 5 feet long. Because anglerfish's stomachs are extensible, they can swallow prey about the same size as or even larger than themselves! Some anglerfish species like to dwell at the bottom of the shallow sea, but others prefer to swim in the deep ocean. Regardless of whether they use their pectoral fins to move along the seabed or they maneuver rather awkwardly in the open water, anglerfish always get their meals by dangling their bizarre-looking dorsal spines over their heads. But, how can they fish when sunlight cannot reach the deep sea? No need to worry! For those anglerfish that live in the darkness, they "advertise" their bait by illuminating it! As unbelievable as this sounds, deep-sea anglerfish species (such as the blackdevil [scientific name: Melanocetus johnsoni]) have light-producing bacteria to make their bait visible.

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