Rare ‘Seadevil’ fish caught on film in the Monterey Canyon

THIS terrifying-looking carnivorous fish with a huge head and a mouth full of long, fang-like teeth has been caught on film for the first time.

IT’s got a face only a mother could love.

The rare nine-centimetre long Black Seadevil, or Melanocetus, was caught on video for the first time by researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California.

Bruce Robison, a senior scientist at the institute, believes the footage is the first time a living fish was filmed at its depth of 600 metres, USA Today reports.

Researchers were exploring the Monterey Canyon, a part of the Pacific Ocean that’s as large as the Grand Canyon.

“These are ambush predators,” Robison said of the fish, which has sharp teeth on the outside of its large jaw and uses a flashlight-like body part to attract prey in the lightless bottom of the sea.

Ambush predator ... When a smaller fish or squid approaches, its huge jaws inhale the prey caught in its sharp teeth.

There are more than 200 species of anglerfish, most of which live in the murky depths of the Atlantic and Antarctic oceans, up to 1.6 kilometres below the surface, according to National Geographic.

Their most distinctive feature, worn only by females, is a piece of dorsal spine that protrudes above their mouths like a fishing pole — hence their name.

Tipped with a lure of luminous flesh, this built-in rod baits prey close enough to be snatched.

Their mouths are so big and their bodies so pliable, they can actually swallow prey up to twice their own size.