Fish of the Lophius (monkfishes) genus of the Lophiidae (goosefishes) family of the Lophioidei suborder of the Lophiiformes (anglerfishes) order of the Acanthopterygii superorder.
(Blackbellied angler. Photo © labastia.blogspot.ru)
Blackbellied angler (Lophius budegassa) was first described in 1807 by the Italian entomologist Maximilian Spinola (1780-1857).
It inhabits the depths of 300-1,013 meters. It prefers to swim near the sandy and silty bottom. The maximum recorded length is 100 cm; specimens up to 50 cm long are more common. It feeds mainly on fish. It chases its prey, partially buried in the ground, waiting for it, drawing its attention with a mobile outgrowth on its head resembling a worm.
(Blackbellied angler. Photo by © Gianni Neto. fishbase.org)
It’s a permanent inhabitant of the Adriatic Sea, which is more often found in its southern part.
Names of blackbellied angler (Lophius budegassa) in other languages as follows:
Zhaba e detit (Albanian), Πεσκαντρίτσα μαύρη (Peskandritsa mavri) (Greek), Rape negro (Spanish), Budego (Italian), Kleiner Seeteufel (German), Żabnica afrykańska (Polish), Tamboril preto (Portuguese), Udiljshchik–budegasa (Удильщик–будегасса) (Russian), Grdoba žuta, Grdobina žutka (Serbian, Croatian), Mala morska spaka (Slovenian), Baudroie rousse (French).