Research traces evolution of anglerfishes' famed fishing-rod lures

Anybody who has seen "Finding Nemo" knows about those captivating monsters of the sea: anglerfishes. Variously horrific or alien-looking, many female anglerfishes sport long, protruding lures used for enticing prey or signaling during mating. Additionally, the dizzying variety of lures doesn't just include motion-based ones. Some anglerfish species have bioluminescent lures, while others have lures that release chemicals to attract prey or signal potential mates. Now, research from the University of Kansas appearing in Ichthyology & Herpetology is giving new detail to the evolutionary history of anglerfishes' lures, studying more than 100 species to see how the lures evolved.