| Bathymaster signatus | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Scorpaeniformes |
| Family: | Bathymasteridae |
| Genus: | Bathymaster |
| Species: | B. signatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Bathymaster signatus Cope, 1873 | |
Bathymaster signatus, the searcher, is species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Bathymasteridae, the ronquils. This species is found in the northern Pacific Ocean.
Bathymaster signatus was first formally described in 1873 by the American paleontologist and biologist Edward Drinker Cope with its type locality given as Sitka, Alaska. [1] Cope placed this new species in a new monotypic genus Bathymaster and so this species is the type species of that genus. [2] The specific name signatus means "marked", presumed to be an allusion to the black spot crossing the tips of the membranes and first five rays of the dorsal fin. [3]
Bathymaster signatus has an elongated, moderately compressed body, deepest at the start of the dorsal fin, with a large slightly pointed head. The mouth is terminal and diagonal with the outer teeth on the upper jaw being canine-like and the inner ones more conical, this is reversed on the lower jaw. There are teeth on the vomer and palatine. The oval shaped eyes are large. [4] DThe dorsal fin has 47 soft rays and the anal fin has between 32 and 34 soft rays. The caudal fin is slender and softly rounded. The color is brown on the upper body having dark markings, paler on the lower body with yellow to orange streaks. Some geographical populations may show some yellow on the head and yellow mottling on fins. There is a conspicuous black blotch on the anterior part of dorsal fin over the first 3 to 5 rays. The pelvic fins are dusky and there are some dark markings on the other fins. The eyes are said to be blue. This species attains a maximum published total length of 38 cm (15 in). [5]
Bathymaster signatus is found in the northern North Pacific Ocean where its range extends from East Siberian Sea to eastern Kamchatka and the Komandorski Islands, Russia to the state of Washington, United States including the Sea of Okhotsk. It is a demersal fish that is found on soft substrates offshore to depths of about 300 m (980 ft), but has been reported down to 825 m (2,707 ft). [5]
Bathymaster signatus has a spawning season which ends in June. They become sexually mature at lengths of 27 to 28 cm (11 to 11 in) and the mean fecundity of females is 90,351 eggs. The eggs have a diameter of 1.4 mm, and a weight of 1.14 mg. Their diet is made up largely of polychaetes as well as hermit crabs, shrimps, and gammarids, in order of decreasing importance. [6]
Ronquils is a small family marine ray-finned fish, the Bathymasteridae. These fishes are found only in Arctic and North Pacific waters. This family contains just seven species in three genera. The larger species are important to commercial fisheries as food fish. Ronquils are most closely related to the eelpouts and prowfish in the suborder Zoarcoidei of the order Scorpaeniformes.
Pholidae is a family of marine ray-finned fishes, known as gunnels, in the scorpaeniform suborder Zoarcoidei. These are fishes of the littoral zone and are mainly found in North Pacific Ocean, with two species found in the North Atlantic Ocean and Arctic Ocean.
The quillfish,, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, it is the only species in the genus Ptilichthys and family Ptilichthyidae. This fish occurs in the northern North Pacific Ocean.
The stripedfin ronquil, also known as the bluebanded ronquil, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Bathymasteridae, the ronquils. This fish is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
Cryptacanthodes is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the monogeneric family Cryptacanthodidae, commonly referred to as wrymouths. Three of the four species are found in the Pacific Ocean with one species native to the western Atlantic Ocean where they are benthic fishes, tunneling through soft substrates. It is currently the only known genus in its family.
Bathymaster is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Bathymasteridae, the ronquils. These fishes are found in the northern Pacific Ocean.
Rathbunella is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Bathymasteridae, the ronquils. These fishes are found in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
The rock gunnel, or butterfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Pholidae, the gunnels. This species is found in the coastal waters of the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Atlantic part of the Arctic Ocean.
The dara is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grunt belonging to the family Haemulidae. It is native to the Atlantic coast of Africa. It is the only species in the monospecific genus Parakuhlia.
Minous monodactylus, the grey stingfish or grey goblinfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fishes, it is the only genus in the tribe Minoini, one of the three tribes which are classified within the subfamily Synanceiinae within the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. This species found in the Indo-Pacific and is venomous to humans.
Gvozdarus svetovidovi, the naked-head toothfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Nototheniidae, the notothens or cod icefishes. It is found in the Ross and Cooperation Seas, probably south of the Antarctic Polar Front from pelagic waters down to depths of 550 m (1,804 ft), though it is normally found in a pelagic environment.
The stippled gunnel is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Pholidae, the gunnels. It is the only species in the monospecific genus Rhodymenichthys. It is found in the northern North Pacific Ocean.
The fourline snakeblenny is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Stichaeidae, the pricklebacks and shannies. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Eumesogrammus. This fish is found in the Western North Atlantic, Arctic and North Pacific Oceans.
Stichaeus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Stichaeidae, the pricklebacks or shannies. These fishes are mainly found in the North Pacific Ocean with one species in the Arctic and western North Atlantic Oceans.
Stichaeopsis is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Stichaeidae, the pricklebacks or shannies. These fishes are found in the western North Pacific Ocean.
The Arctic shanny is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Stichaeidae, the pricklebacks and shannies. This species occurs in the North Pacific, Arctic and western North Atlantic Oceans.
Askoldia is a monotypic genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Stichaeidae, the pricklebacks and shannies. Its only species is Askoldia variegata which is found in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.
Lumpenopsis is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Stichaeidae, the pricklebacks or shannies. These fishes are found in the North Pacific Ocean.
Pholidapus is a monotypic genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Stichaeidae, the pricklebacks and shannies. Its only species is Pholidapus dybowskii which is found in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.
The bearded eelpout is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. This species is the only species in the monospecific genus Lyconema. It is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean.