Latin Name: Thaumatichthys axeli
Geographic Location: Pacific Ocean
Depth: 3600 meters
Size: Females 36.5 cm, Males 4.5 cm

Prince Axel’s Wonderfish is a deep-sea anglerfish which live on the seafloor (benthic). Like most deep-sea anglerfishes, they exhibit sexual dimorphism with the females much larger and different in appearance from the males. Females have a long, broad, flattened head with enlarged teeth on the upper jaw that overhang the shorter lower jaw. The males are small, slender with long hooked teeth at the tips of the jaws.

The wonderfish has an extremely unusual jaw mechanism which hangs in the inside of the roof of the mouth. At the end of the lure is bioluminescent bulb which can be adjusted in size to vary the light emission. The lure can be swung back and forth to entice prey inside the mouth. The teeth on either side of the upper jaw are able to rotate to trap the unsuspecting prey attracted by the lure (similar to a Venus flytrap). The upper jaw mechanism can even capture prey without the lower jaw.

Despite this highly specialized predatory strategy wonderfish are known to eat sea cucumbers and plant debris, suggesting that these fish will consume just about anything available.