It´s not a parasite, It´s my husband!

Dear Moonstruck:                    

Today I´ll talk about one of the cutest animals in the oceans. Did you really think I was being serious? Of course not, this is a blog for terrifying creatures. If you want to see cute animals, go on and search for baby seals. If you decided to stay, then be ready to learn something about the fearsome deep-sea anglerfish.

This freaky friend lives 3 km below the sea level. That means he lives under the most unfriendly conditions. Imagine living in a freezing environment without light and scarce food. The anglerfish is adapted to live under this conditions, that´s why he resembles a flat old balloon.

                                    

                                     The deep sea anglerfish (Order: Lophiiphormes).

Females have a big wide mouth to catch whatever they encounter in this hostile environment, of course living there, you should catch any creature you come across, that's why they can expand their stomach more than twice their size. Another amazing feature is the included lamp they have between their eyes. This natural light bulb can shine in complete darkness due to photo bacteria that live inside. This magnificent gadget allows them to attract preys and of course a proper husband.

                                    

Between their eyes they have an amazing natural lamp which will light their way in the darkest corners of nature.

Females are bigger than males, sometimes 10 times bigger! Males are small and do not present lamps on their heads, their only goal in life is to find a female quickly, once they hatched they should find a wife right away, otherwise they will die since their mouth and intestines are not suitable to function for a long time.

You may now wonder why does this happens?  

Well, this is the best part of the article, one of the most amazing reproductive systems on earth: Sexual parasitism. Attracted by the light and smell of the female, once a male finds a female, it will attach himself to her for the rest of her life. A little intense huh? Imagine living attached to your partner for the rest of your life. And that is not all, once the male bites the female, we will secrete special proteins which will melt his mouth with his wife´s outer skin, making a big couple fusion. The circulatory system of the female will join that of the male and this smart fellow will become a parasite to his wife. She will have to feed him and take care of him. But now she will have a new pair of shiny new testicles to brag off.

                                 

The big female deep-sea anglerfish attached to what seems to be a small annoying parasite which is actually a male.

But what does she gain out of this big mess? Having a small husband attached sucking from your blood is not the smartest idea in nature. Well she gains one of the best presents nature has to offer, she can reproduce  whenever and wherever she wants, she doesn't need to wait until she finds a male to fertilize her eggs. Since mom and dad are one individual now.