Fishes that fish
It’s a common thing for people to go fishing. Perhaps you’ve even gone
fishing yourself. But have you ever heard of a fish going fishing?
Well, some of them do! And, believe it or not, they even use \”fishing
poles”!For example, there’s a fish called the whiskery frogfish. Just above
this fish’s mouth is a thin, bony rod that sticks straight out. And on
the end of the rod is a piece of skin that looks just like a fat,
white worm.The frogfish moves slowly among the seaweed. Because of its color and
its \”whiskers,” which are long, slender bits of skin all over its
body, it blends in with the seaweed. As it moves, it waves its
\”fishing rod” so that the white bit of skin wiggles like a swimming
worm.The white \”worm” stands out quite clearly against the seaweed. A
smaller fish spies it and swims toward it, expecting an easy meal. The
little fish doesn’t notice the frogfish hidden among the seaweed.
Then, just as the little fish is about to take the \”worm” into its
mouth, a bigger mouth—the mouth of the frogfish—opens wide. And,
quick as a flash the little fish is sucked into it. The fishing fish
has made its catch!
The whiskery frogfish is only one of several hundred different kinds of
fishing fishes. These fishes are known as angler fishes. \”Angler,” of
course, means \”someone who fishes with a hook and line.”
Some kinds of angler fish are deep-sea fish. They live far down, where
no light reaches and the water is as dark as unending night. These
deep-sea anglers don’t have a flap of skin on the end of their \”fishing
pole.” They have a little glowing light that attracts their prey to
them.
