All versions written for nonscientists speak of fused males as the curious tale of anglerfish—just as we so often hear about monkey swinging through the trees, or worm burrowing through soil. But if nature teaches us any lesson, it loudly proclaims life's diversity. There ain't no such abstraction as clam, fly, or anglerfish. Ceratioid anglerfishes come in nearly 100 species, and each has its own peculiarity.
Stephen Jay Gould