| Bathypterois dubius | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Aulopiformes |
| Family: | Ipnopidae |
| Genus: | Bathypterois |
| Species: | B. dubius |
| Binomial name | |
| Bathypterois dubius Vaillant, 1888 | |
Bathypterois dubius, the Mediterranean spiderfish, a lizardfish of the family Ipnopidae, is found in the Eastern Atlantic, as well as the Mediterranean and northwest Atlantic.
The name "snoutlet crotchfeeler" was coined by D. E. McAllister in his 1990 book A List of the Fishes of Canada, being one of many common names he conceived in the book (French: cran-tactile à muselet). [1] These common names were subsequently used in the Encyclopedia of Canadian Fishes by Brian W. Coad. [2] In a review of Coad's book, Erling Holm remarked that many of the names coined by Mcallister differed significantly from the standard set by Robins et. al., deemed widely accepted, and promoted by the Committee on Names of Fishes. [3] [4] For the names of deep-sea fish, which are unlikely to have day-to-day use, Holm deemed the names "unnecessarily complex, easily misspelled, or downright silly"; specifically for "snoutlet crotchfeeler", he thought the name "violates the tenets of good taste". [3]
Like other species in its family, the Mediterranean spiderfish is hermaphroditic. It is solitary in nature and feeds on mysids and copepods. It reaches a length of 20.5 centimetres (8.1 in) SL.
