American angler
Lophius americanus Valenciennes, 1837
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Goosefish, Lophius americanus, laying camoflaged on a northern rocky reef.
Image ID: nur00505, National Undersearch Research Program (NURP) Collection Location: North Atlantic Ocean, Georges Bank. Credit: OAR/National Undersea Research Program (NURP) Downloaded from: http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/nurp/nur00505.htm · Public domain · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Lophius americanus is a goosefish in the family Lophiidae, also called all-mouth, American anglerfish, American monkfish, bellows-fish, devil-fish, headfish, molligut, satchel-mouth, or wide-gape. It is native to the eastern coast of North America.
Wikipedia contributors, Lophius americanus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:53:32.872110+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Lophius americanus Valenciennes, 1837
- Name authority
- Valenciennes, 1837
- Common name
- American angler
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Lophiiformes
- Family
- Lophiidae
- Genus
- Lophius
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderLophiiformes
- suborderLophioidei
- familyLophiidae Rafinesque, 1810
- genusLophius Linnaeus, 1758
- speciesLophius americanus Valenciennes, 1837
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Lophius. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| blackfin goosefishLophius gastrophysus Miranda Ribeiro, 1915 | LophiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| yellow goosefishLophius litulon (Jordan, 1902) | LophiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lophius vaillanti Regan, 1903 | LophiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| devil anglerfishLophius vomerinus Valenciennes, 1837 | LophiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lophius onokensis Schwarzhans, 2019 | LophiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extinct |
| black-bellied anglerLophius budegassa Spinola, 1807 | LophiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| anglerLophius piscatorius Linnaeus, 1758 | LophiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Cuvier, G., & Valenciennes, A. (1837). Histoire naturelle des poissons. Tome douzième. Suite du livre quatorzième. Gobioïdes. Livre quinzième. Acanthoptérygiens à pectorales pédiculées. v. 12, pp i-xxiv. 1-507, 1: 344–368. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3W2LH. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.