[7] Lophius piscatorius was first formally described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae given as "in Oceano Europæo", meaning the Northeastern Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean and Black Seas with localities mentioned including Bordeaux, Marseille and Montpellier in France; Genoa, Rome, Naples and Venice in Italy; Lesbos in Greece; and Syria.

[9] The genus Lophius is one of four extant genera in the family Lophiidae, which the 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies in the monotypic suborder Lophioidei within the order Lophiiformes.

Average size also tends to increase with depth; populations living in deeper waters are larger-bodied overall than shallow-water ones.

The wide mouth extends all the way around the anterior circumference of the head, and both jaws are armed with bands of long, pointed teeth.

These are inclined inwards and can be closed so as to offer no impediment to an object gliding towards the stomach, but to prevent its escape from the mouth.

[13] The pectoral and pelvic fins are articulated as to perform the functions of feet, so the fish is able to walk along the bottom of the sea, where it generally hides in the sand or amongst seaweed.

[13] The ovaries of female anglers take the form of two long, ribbon-like lobes connected at their posterior ends.

One side consists of an egg-producing layer, while the other produces a gelatinous secretion that fills the ovarian lumen during egg maturation.

[16] The fish has long filaments along the middle of its head, which are, in fact, the detached and modified three first spines of the anterior dorsal fin.

While it is considered probable that smaller fish are attracted in this way experiments have shown that the actions of the jaw is automatic and depends on the contact of the prey with the tentacle.