Species: Saccostoma
Class: Lasiognathus
Family: Thaumatichthyidae (Wolftrap anglers)
Order: Lophiiformes (anglerfishes)
Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
One of the rarest of all fish, Lasiognathus saccostoma is a grotesque anglerfish with a huge, distinct overbite. Its upper jaw extends about twice as far as its lower jaw and, when raised, creates a vacuum sweeping in any nearby potential sustenance. It is about three inches long and thin, unlike most anglers. It does, however, have the trademark rod, line, and lure. It comes the closest to having a natural fishing pole; its lure is not only luminous, but also hooked in three places. The rod is also hinged and can be either raised straight up or out like a lance. This allows the creature to whip its line and lure forward. The specific function of this contraption may be, as the undersea explorer Charles William Beebe suggested in 1930, "[to be] cast swiftly ahead, when the hooks and lights would so frighten any pursued fish that they would hesitate long enough to be engulfed in the onrushing maw."
It feeds mostly on smaller fish and occasionally on invertebrates. It is harmless to humans. It lives in the bathypelagic zone (up to 4000 meters deep) of the tropical waters of the Eastern Central Pacific and of the Atlantic. It was first discovered in 1925. It is butt ugly and wicked awesome.