04/09/2026
The fishes that fish! This study describes the variation in and evolution of lures in the super cool, deep-sea anglerfishes.
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The evolution of lures in anglerfishes: Investigating nature's tackle box. Researchers explore the bizarre tackle boxes of anglerfishes, publishing new details on the evolutionary history of their lures. More than 100 species were studied to see how the lures evolved in different ways (mechanical, chemical and bioluminescent) to attract prey and maybe even mates in the deep sea.
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The Evolution of Lures in Anglerfishes (Acanthuriformes: Lophioidei): Investigating Nature's Tackle Box
Open-access - https://bioone.org/journals/ichthyology-and-herpetology/volume-114/issue-1/i2025018/The-Evolution-of-Lures-in-Anglerfishes-Acanthuriformes--Lophioidei/10.1643/i2025018.full
Sci-comm post - https://news.ku.edu/news/article/research-traces-evolution-of-anglerfishes-famed-fishing-rod-lures
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Alex J. Maile, Matthew P. Davis "The Evolution of Lures in Anglerfishes (Acanthuriformes: Lophioidei): Investigating Nature's Tackle Box," Ichthyology & Herpetology, 114(1), 103-118, (27 March 2026)
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Anglerfishes (Lophioidei) exhibit extraordinary morphological and behavioral adaptations for luring prey, yet the evolutionary history and diversification implications of their lure types remain poorly understood.
Here, we use a published total-evidence phylogeny of anglerfishes and their allies that integrates ultraconserved elements (UCEs), mitochondrial data, and morphological characters to investigate the origins and evolution of luring strategies across the clade.
Our results indicate that mechanical lures evolved early, originating in the common ancestor of the Lophioidei during the Late Cretaceous. Chemical luring evolved independently twice: once in batfishes (Ogcocephalidae) during the Eocene, and again in the frogfish ๐ด๐๐ก๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ข๐ ๐ ๐ก๐๐๐๐ก๐ข๐ . Bioluminescent lures arose once within a derived deep-sea ceratioid lineage during the Oligocene. Bioluminescent luring is associated with major ecological transitions into pelagic deep-sea environments, elevated diversification rates, and key anatomical innovations, including the evolution of an escal pore and elaborate escae, which are potentially involved in both prey attraction and sexual signaling. Morphological variation in the illicium, the esca, and associated structures is most pronounced in ceratioid taxa, reflecting a complex interplay of ecological and behavioral factors shaping lure morphology across habitats.
We also identify consistent patterns linking rotational range with documented luring behaviors, alongside a trend toward increased lure length that positions the esca in front of the mouth, bringing prey within striking distance during predation. Together, these findings offer new insights into the evolutionary origins and functional diversity of anglerfish lures and underscore the influence of morphology and environment on their remarkable predatory strategies.
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Top - Variation of length among luring apparatus components among anglerfishes and their allies. Lure components include esca (E), illicium (I), and exposed pterygiophore (P). Scale bars represent 2 mm. Lophioideo: (A) Lophiodes caulinaris, LACM 8836-10. (B) Lophiodes miacanthus, LACM 46040-3. (C) Lophiomus setigerus, LACM 44743-7. (D) Lophius americanus, LACM 34328-1. Antennarioideo: (E) Antennarius avalonis, LACM 49991-1. (F) Histrio, LACM 8975-1. (G) Kuiterichthys sp., LACM 11537-1. (H) Lophiocharon trisignatus, LACM 54171-1. Ogcocephaloideo: (I) Dibranchus erinaceus, LACM 33699-2. (J) Halieutaea fitzsimonsi, LACM 44745-6. (K) Malthopsis mitrigera, LACM 56294-1. (L) Ogcocephalus darwini, LACM 43975-2. (M) Zalieutes elater, LACM 6552-2. Chaunacoideo: ( N ) Chaunax sp., LACM 44750-3. (O) Chaunax sp., LACM 35843-1. Ceratioideo: (P) Caulophryne polynema, LACM 33923-1. (Q) Centrophryne spinulosa, LACM 31105-24. (R) Ceratias tentaculatus, LACM 11025-7. (S) Cryptopsaras couesii, LACM 11231-1. (T) Bufoceratias wedli, LACM 34272-1. (U) Gigantactis vanhoeffeni, LACM 45001-1. (V) Himantolophus sagamius, LACM 43760-1. (W) Himantolophus albinares, LACM 57239-2. (X) Borophryne apogon, LACM 30053-10. ( Y ) Linophryne densiramus, LACM 38440-1. (Z) Melanocetus murrayi, LACM 36113-1.
Middle left - The Anglerfish species ๐ต๐ข๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐ค๐๐๐๐ from the Field Museum of Natural History. Photo by Matthew Davis.
Middle right - Fossil-calibrated, genus-level phylogeny of anglerfishes, based on the total-evidence maximum-likelihood tree from Maile et al. (2025), with character-state reconstruction of luring types, luring-angle ranges, and lure morphometrics normalized to standard length (SL). Fossil calibration numbers correspond to entries in S1 Text (see Supplemental Text 1 for fossil justifications and placement; see Data Accessibility). Confidence intervals for node ages were estimated from 100 nonparametric bootstrap replicates; blue bars at nodes indicate 95% confidence intervals on divergence times. Lure types are shown by ancestral-state mapping; luring angles are grouped into six categories (shades of green) defined as (1) 0โ37.5ยฐ, (2) 37.5โ75ยฐ, (3) 75โ112.5ยฐ, (4) 112.5โ150ยฐ, (5) 150โ187.5ยฐ, and (6) 187.5โ230ยฐ. Lure-to-SL ratios are displayed as paired bars: the first bar indicates combined illicium and exposed pterygiophore length (IL), and the second bar represents esca length (EL); together these comprise total lure length (TLL). See Supplemental Figure 1 for the full fossil-calibrated phylogeny (see Data Accessibility).
Bottom - Lure component morphometric and rotational range parameters. (A) Lure morphometric delimitations include exposed pterygiophore + illicium length (IL), esca length (EL), and total exposed lure length (TLL). (BโG) Lure rotational range extension parameters include: (B) Antennarioideo and Lophioideo; (C) Chaunacoideo; (D) non-specified ceratioids; (E) Caulophrynidae (Ceratioideo); (F) Bufoceratias (Diceratiidae; Ceratioideo); (G) Gigantactinidae (Ceratioideo). Gray/white circles indicate vertex of lure angle. White arrows indicate the forward-stop positions (FS) and backward/resting-stop (RS) position in lure rotation (LR). Specimens from AโG are presented in lateral view, anterior to left, and include: (A) Linophryne densiramus, 60 mm SL, LACM 38440-1; (B) Histrio histrio, 138 mm SL, LACM 8975-1; (C) Chaunax sp., 158 mm SL, LACM 44750-3; (D) Himantolophus sagamius, 348 mm SL, LACM 60082-1; (E) Caulophryne polynema, 131 mm SL, LACM 33923-1; (F) Bufoceratias wedli, 64 mm SL, LACM 34272; (G) Gigantactis vanhoeffeni, 226 mm SL, LACM 45001-1.
Copyright ยฉ 2026 by the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. Published in the Ichthyology & Herpetology journal. This paper is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY-4.0) licence.
