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 Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 7:27 pm
 .d u s t . i n f o.
.c h i l d . i n f o.
.g u a r d i a n . i n f o.
.r e s e r v e d.x
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Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 7:28 pm
 .anglerfish.
The dust appears filthy and wet, like mud, flecked with alluring blue-white specks of light. The image of a horrific, fanged fish can be seen in the bottle if one looks hard enough.
Anglerfish are the members of the order Lophiiformes. They are bony fish named for their characteristic mode of predation, wherein a fleshy growth from the fish's head (the esca or illicium) acts as a lure; this is considered analogous to angling. 
The spine is movable in all directions, and the esca can be wiggled so as to resemble a prey animal, and thus to act as bait to lure other predators close enough for the anglerfish to devour them whole. The jaws are triggered in automatic reflex by contact with the tentacle.
Some deep-sea anglerfishes of the bathypelagic zone emit light from their escas to attract prey. This bioluminescence is a result of symbiosis with bacteria. The bacteria may enter the esca from the seawater through small pores; however, this is speculative and the mechanism by which ceratioids harness these bacteria is unknown. In the confines of the esca, they can multiply until their density is such that their collective glow is very bright.
In most species, a wide mouth extends all around the anterior circumference of the head, and both jaws are armed with bands of long pointed teeth, which are inclined inwards, and can be depressed so as to offer no impediment to an object gliding towards the stomach, but prevent its escape from the mouth. The anglerfish is able to distend both its jaw and its stomach (its bones are thin and flexible) to enormous size, allowing it to swallow prey up to twice as large as its entire body.
The scientific name is from Greek keras meaning "horn", and refers to the bioluminescent lure that projects from the fish's forehead.
Ceratiidae males are substantially smaller than the females. At a young age, one or more males attach themselves parasitically and permanently to a female, eventually merging circulatory systems. As this genetic Chimera matures, the males grow large testicles while the rest of their bodies atrophy. Ceratiidae are the only known creatures to naturally become Chimeras as part of their life cycle.source; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglerfish and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceratiidaex
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Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 7:29 pm
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Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 7:30 pm
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Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 8:22 pm
[closed, but needing crits very shortly <3]
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