Pacific footballfish
Amazing fact
Pacific footballfish use the glowing tuft on their head to attract others of the same species.
新江ノ島水族館
No sign-up needed. You can save notes on this device.
An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
Pacific footballfish use the glowing tuft on their head to attract others of the same species.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Pacific footballfish
- Scientific name
- Himantolophus sagamius
- Japanese name
- チョウチンアンコウ
- Group
- Ocean animals
- Order
- Lophiiformes
- Family
- Himantolophidae
- Genus
- Himantolophus
A stalk grows from its head with a glowing lure called an esca at the tip, which is likened to a paper lantern.
It lures the fish it eats by making its esca glow and by releasing a glowing liquid.
Where the Pacific footballfish has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- チョウチンアンコウ
- 简体中文
- 相模湾鞭冠鮟鱇
- 繁體中文
- 相模灣鞭冠鮟鱇
- Português (Brasil)
- Peixe-diabo-oval-do-Pacífico
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 新江ノ島水族館 — アンコウのお話Checked: 2026-11-03
- 新江ノ島水族館 — 発光する生物の話Checked: 2026-11-03
- 新江ノ島水族館 — 飼育員に伝わる伝説Checked: 2026-11-03
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
Report a mistakeRELATIVES
Others in Lophiiformes
MORE TO MEET
