Lophiomus is a monospecific genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family, Lophiidae, the goose fishes, monkfishes or anglers. The only species in the genusisLophiomus setigerus, the blackmouth angler, blackmouth goosefish, broadheaded anglerorbroadhead goosefish. This fish is found in the Indo-Pacific.
Lophiomus was coined by Guill when he proposed the genus as being different from Lophius but he did not explain the suffix -omus. In 1898, David Starr Jordan and Barton Warren Evermann posited that it was derived from omos, meaning "shoulder", stating that Gill had alluded to a "trifid hemeral spine" which had been mentioned by Gill in 1878 but this was a reference to Lophius americanus, under the name Lophius piscatorius. The specific namesetigerus is a compound of seta, which means "bristle" and iger, meaning "to bear", an allusion to the many spines on the upper body and sides of this fish.[7]
Lophiomus goosefishes have a strongly flattened head and body. The ridges on the frontal, maxllary and dentary bones have a covering of conical spines which makes then rough. There are 2 spines between the eyes. The body is plain dark brown on the upper body and pale on the lower body.[8] The fins are the same colour as the area of body they are next to. The maximum published total length of this species is 40 cm (16 in), although 30 cm (12 in) is more typical.[2]
Lophiomus has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution from the eastern African coast between the Red Sea in the north to South Africa, through the Indian Ocean, including the Persian Gulf, east into the Pacific Ocean as far east as Fiji and Marshall Islands, north to Japan and south to Australia and New Caledonia.[1] This species is found at depths between 30 and 800 m (98 and 2,625 ft) on substrates of sand or mud.[2]
Lophiomus was, in the past, a species caught only as bycatch but it is now a target for commercial fisheries in China, Japan and Korea. It is a valuable catch and the liver is regarded as a delicacy.[1] In Korea it is used to make the dish agujim.[9]
