Austria 2023 3 Euro Colored Collector Coin – Black Anglerfish

As dark and terrifying as the deep blue sea itself, such black coins as the deep-sea anglerfish have never been seen before. When illuminated by ultraviolet light, its secret is revealed – you come face to face with a terrifying sea monster – the black anglerfish. This is the fourth coin in the 3 Euro series “Luminous Marine Life,” which could not be more extraordinary.

Deep-sea fish with a spherical body, large head, and sharp-toothed mouth are bizarre-looking creatures found below 300 meters in all the world’s oceans in tropical regions. These are black anglerfish, belonging to the anglerfish family. Ranging from 6 centimeters to 1.2 meters in body length, it is astonishing how much larger the female is compared to the male, which measures only a few centimeters. To catch prey, female deep-sea anglerfish have a “fishing rod” (illicium) with a “lure” (esca) attached to the end, which typically has a luminous organ. The internal structure of the “lure” is complex and includes numerous stunning vesicles filled with luminescent bacteria. Besides this luminescent organ, all species of the Linophryne genus have a light-emitting spine on the hyoid bone. However, this light is not produced by light-generating bacteria but by photogenic granules located between the cells. The independent development of two different light production mechanisms in this genus is unique in the natural world.