* Early Discoveries: Fishermen have likely encountered anglerfish for centuries, particularly in deep-sea fishing. However, these early encounters might not have been formally documented or scientifically recognized.
* First Scientific Description: The earliest scientifically documented anglerfish was likely in 1775, when Peter Forsskål described a species from the Red Sea called "Lophius piscatorius".
* Continued Exploration: Since then, new anglerfish species have been discovered throughout the 19th and 20th centuries as we've explored deeper parts of the ocean.
So, there isn't a single year for the "discovery" of anglerfish. It's more about a gradual process of scientific understanding and documentation through centuries of observation.