Habitat

Most anglerfish are found in the great depths of the ocean, but some species are found in shallow water. According to Pietsch in his book Oceanic Anglerfish, C. holboelli have been captured between 150-3400m below the surface. The majority of specimens that have been captured were found between 400-2000m below the surface.
 
C. holboelli is present in all three major oceans. It has been found as far north as the Greenland Sea above Iceland and throughout the North Atlantic. Specimens have been collected on both sides of the Pacific and all the way south to the Central Atlantic. In the east, C. holboelli has been recorded in the Peru-Chile Trench. This anglerfish is also present in the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea (Pietsch, 1986).

Permission granted by Pietsch, T.W. Oceanic anglerfishes: extraordinary diversity in the deep sea. University of California Press, Berkeley, California, USA.
Figure 209. Distribution of species of Ceratias: C. holboelli (red), Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans; C. uranoscopus (yellow), Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans; C. tentaculatus (blue), Southern Ocean. A single symbol may indicate more than one capture. Found in Pietsch, T.W. Oceanic anglerfishes: extraordinary diversity in the deep sea. University of California Press, Berkeley, California, USA.

Other organisms that live in the deep sea include species of lobster and zoanthids. Various species of jellyfish and squid can be found containing bioluminescent qualities. Deep-sea coral species can also be found in the same habitat has the anglerfish (Ocean Portal).  

About 1,000m below the surface, the ocean is pitch black. Because of the cold, dark environment of the deep ocean, anglerfish have adapted a bioluminescence illicium. This illicium is used for a source of light and also a feeding mechanism known as luring (Anglerfish).

Classification        Home        Adaptation