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This family is the only familiar Gulf of Maine representative of the small but anatomically remarkable tribe of pediculate fishes, in which the base of the pectoral fin takes the form of an arm ("pseudo-brachium") formed by the elongation of the carpal bones ("actinosts"), which are so short in all other bony fishes that they are not noticeable externally. Coupled with this peculiar structure of the pectorals, the gill openings are reduced to small apertures in or near the axils ("armpits") of these fins. The anglers are characterized among their immediate relatives by a very large and very much flattened head; by an enormous mouth; and by the fact that they have only two bones in each pectoral "arm." The Gulf of Maine harbors one species.