tamborils

Tamboril is a common name used in Portuguese and several Spanish-speaking countries for monkfish, species within the genus Lophius (family Lophiidae). In English, these fish are usually called monkfish or goosefish. The term tamboril is typically applied to Lophius piscatorius and closely related species found on the European Atlantic shelves and in the Mediterranean.

Physically, tamborils are large, bottom-dwelling anglerfishes. They have a broad, flattened head, a huge mouth, and a distinctive dorsal lure (the illicium) with a bait-like esca that attracts prey. Their bodies are stocky and pale to mottled in color, adapted to blend with soft seabeds. They can reach substantial sizes, and specimens may be longer than a meter in some species.

Ecologically, tamborils are ambush predators. They live on soft substrates on the continental shelf and upper slope, feeding mainly on fish and crustaceans. They spawn in significant egg masses produced by females, which are released into the water and fertilized externally.

In fisheries, tamborils are a commercially important resource in many regions. They are typically caught by bottom trawling and gillnetting and marketed for their firm, white flesh, valued for fillets, steaks, and seafood dishes. Because some stocks have experienced overfishing, regional management measures—such as catch quotas, size limits, and closed areas—have been implemented to maintain populations.