Sladenia shaefersi

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Sladenia shaefersi, also known as Shaefer's anglerfish or the Atlantic twospine goosefish, is a deep-sea fish in the goosefish family found in the western Atlantic Ocean. It was first described in 1976 by ichthyologists John H. Caruso and Harvey R. Bullis from a specimen collected near Point Barú on Colombia’s Caribbean coast.

Appearance: It has a rounded head and a slightly arched back. The body is grey with pale lines and small pale spots. It has a few low spines on the head, tiny bristle-like teeth, and a lure on a rod (the illicium) with a filamentous esca. The first dorsal fin has two spines; the second dorsal fin has 8–9 soft rays, and the anal fin has 6. The head and some fin areas have many small, pointed filaments (cirri). It can reach about 101 cm in length.

Habitat and range: This species lives on the western Atlantic continental slope and on seamounts, at depths of roughly 900–1,200 meters (3,000–3,900 feet). It is found from the Blake Plateau off South Carolina and the Corner Rise Seamounts down through the Gulf of Mexico and into the Caribbean to Colombia and Venezuela.

Conservation: It is listed as Least Concern.