Anglerfishes are fish of the teleost order Lophiiformes /ˌlɒfiːəˈfɔːrmiːz/. They are bony fish named for their characteristic mode of predation, in which a fleshy growth from the fish's head (the esca or illicium) acts as a lure. Some anglerfish are also notable for extreme sexual dimorphism and sexual parasitism of the small male on the much larger female, seen in the suborder Ceratioidei. In these species, males may be several orders of magnitude smaller than females.