Monkfish Coloring Pages

A Fish with a Unique Look in the Deep Sea

Monkfish are fish that live in the deep sea and on the ocean floor. They have flat, strange-looking bodies, but people in Japan love to eat them in yummy hot pots during winter.

Where the Name and English Name Come From

The name of the Monkfish comes from its unusual look and how it catches food.

• Where the Name Comes From: One story says the Japanese name comes from its squishy, funny shape, which sounds like words for a fish that lives in a hole.

• English Names: In English, it is called "Anglerfish" or "Monkfish".

• Why Those English Names?:

  1. Anglerfish: "Angler" means "a person who fishes." Monkfish have a bump on their head that looks like a fishing rod, and they use it to trick their food to come close. That is how it got this name!

  2. Monkfish: "Monk" means a religious teacher. People say it got this name because the head and body of the Monkfish look like the long robes that monks wear.

How Do They Act and Live?

Monkfish have a cool trick: they hide on the ocean floor and wait to catch their food!

• Body Features:

  • Flat Body: They usually hide in the sand or mud at the bottom of the sea, so their bodies are flat from top to bottom.

  • Big Mouth and Sharp Teeth: Their mouth is almost as big as their head! Inside, they have lots of sharp teeth so they can gulp down big food all at once.

• Esca: On the tip of the fishing rod-like bump on their head, there is a fluffy part called an "esca." Monkfish wiggle this to lure in fish and other food.

Where They Live and When to Find Them

• Where They Live: They mostly live on the deep sea floor of the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. In Japan, fishermen catch them most often in the cold winter.

• Best Time: Winter is the best time because their meat gets firm and very tasty!

How to Choose Colors: Use Dark Colors That Blend In With the Deep Sea and Sand!

For the Monkfish coloring page, use dark colors as a base so it blends into the muddy ocean floor and rocky spots, and try to show the bumpy texture of its body!

• Basic Colors: Try using mostly dark brown, very dark brown, gray, and light pink (for the belly).

Colors for each part:

• Body Color: Let's color the whole body using dark brown or dark gray as the base. Instead of coloring it smoothly in just one shade, try adding light and dark tones. This will give it a texture just like bumpy rocks on the seafloor!

• Belly: If you color the belly light pink or cream, it will look just like a deep-sea fish!

• Fishing rod: It is fun to color the fluffy tip of the fishing rod (esca) white or light yellow to make it look like it is glowing to lure in prey!

• Inside the mouth: Color the sharp teeth white and the inside of the mouth dark gray or black. This will make the big mouth look extra cool and powerful!

How to color Monkfish to look 3D: Make it look flat and bumpy!

To show its flat body and bumpy skin texture, let's think about shadows and light! Places that get shadows:

• Add shadows to places where the light doesn't reach, like inside its big mouth, under its body, and at the base of its fins. Use a darker color than your main color, like black or dark brown. This will make your Monkfish look flat and heavy!

Where the light hits:

• If you use bright colors or white dots for the light spots, like the bumpy skin and above the eyes, the skin will look really real!

Show the Texture!

Colored pencils: If you color the whole body by layering short lines and dots, you can make it look like its unique, bumpy skin. How to color: After you color with a dark color, gently layer a light brown on top. This makes a nice color that looks just like it blends into the mud on the ocean floor.

Tips for enjoying your coloring page!

• A delicious winter treat!

  • お道具（クーピー・クレヨン・色鉛筆など）を準備しよう！ 好きな色で塗ってみよう！ 「Monkfish」のぬりえ（塗り絵）が完成したら、お友達やご家族に見せてあげよう！

    Imagine a yummy Monkfish served as a hot pot ingredient in the cold winter, and let's color it with bold strokes!

Even regular Monkfish go "fishing"!

When you think of Monkfish, you might imagine them glowing with a lantern on their head. But regular Monkfish do not glow. Instead, they wiggle a flapping piece at the end of a rod on their head like real live bait. This tricks other fish into swimming close, and then—chomp!

Masters of hide-and-seek in the sand

A Monkfish has a flat body, looking like it was squished from above. Their color looks just like the sand on the ocean floor. When they stay still under the sand, you cannot see them at all! They hide and wait for other fish to come near.

Sharp teeth that never let go

Inside their big mouth, there are lots of sharp teeth. All of these teeth point toward the back of the mouth. That means once a fish gets caught, it can never escape because the teeth hook into it!

You can eat almost everything except the bones!?

A Monkfish might look a little scary, but it is actually a very yummy fish. People say you can eat every part except the bones and teeth, like the skin, fins, and insides. These parts are called the "seven tools of the Monkfish," and they make a wonderful hot pot!