Introduction

The monkfishes are a family of anglerfishes that includes 25 species distributed among four genera (Sladenia, Lophiodes, Lophiomus, and Lophius). These fishes inhabit soft bottoms of the continental slope, usually at depths beyond 200 m, with some species inhabiting depths in excess of 1000 m. Juveniles are often captured at mesopelagic depths. Some species of the genus Lophius can grow to over 1 m and are often exploited as highly esteemed food fishes.