Photocorynus spiniceps

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iPhotocorynus spiniceps

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Lophiiformes
Family:	Linophrynidae
Genus:	Photocorynus
Species:	P. spiniceps

Binomial name

Photocorynus spiniceps
Regan, 1925

Photocorynus spiniceps is a species of anglerfish in the family Linophrynidae.<ref>Charles Tate Regan (1925). "Dwarfed Males Parasitic on the Females in Oceanic Angler-Fishes (Pediculati Ceratioidea)". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B. 97 (684): 386–400.</ref><ref>"Photocorynus spiniceps". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. February 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.</ref>

The known mature male individuals are 6.2–7.3 mm, smaller than any other mature fish and vertebrate; the females, however, reach a significantly larger size of up to 50.5 mm.<ref>Theodore W. Pietsch (2005). "Dimorphism, parasitism, and sex revisited: modes of reproduction among deep-sea ceratioid anglerfishes (Teleostei: Lophiiformes)". Ichthyological Research 52 (3): 207–236. DOI:10.1007/s10228-005-0286-2.</ref><ref>Catch of the day: Researcher stakes claim to tiny-fish title. The Seattle Times (January 31, 2001). Retrieved on 2 February, 2006.</ref> (However, numerous fish species have both sexes reaching maturity below 20 mm.<ref>S. H. Weitzman & R. P. Vari (1988). "Miniaturization in South American freshwater fishes; an overview and discussion". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 101: 444–465.</ref>)

Like other anglerfishes, Photocorynus spiniceps lures its prey using a bioluminescent spinal extension, and swallows the prey whole with the help of a distending jaw and a similarly distending stomach. Its prey can sometimes be as big as their own bodies. The male spends its life fused to its much larger female counterpart. While the female takes care of swimming and eating, the male, with a large proportion of its body consisting of testes, is charged with the task of aiding reproduction.