Bothrocara

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Bothrocara
Bothrocara brunneum.jpg
Bothrocara brunneum
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scorpaeniformes
Family: Zoarcidae
Subfamily: Lycodinae
Genus: Bothrocara
T. H. Bean, 1890
Type species
Bothrocara mollis
T. H. Bean, 1890 [1]
Species

about 8, see text

Synonyms [1]

Bothrocara is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. They are found in the Pacific Ocean with one species reaching the southwestern Atlantic Ocean.

Contents

Taxonomy

Bothrocara was first proposed as a monospecific genus in 1890 by the American ichthyologist Tarleton Hoffman Bean when he described Bothrocara mollis from Cape St. James, in Haida Gwaii, British Columbia. [1] [2] This genus is classified within the subfamily Lycodinae, one of 4 subfamilies in the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. [3] This genus is the sister taxon to Bothrocarina , Lycodapus and Lycogrammoides , and these four genera form a clade within the subfamily Lycodinae. [4]

Etymology

Bothrocara is a compound of bothros, which means "pit" or "trench", and kara, meaning head, an allusion to the large pores along jaws and reaching back to the operculum in B. mollis. [5]

Species

Species include: [6] [2]

A review of the genus in 2011 placed B. elongata, B. nyx and B. pusillum in the genus Bentartia and classifies B. tanakae in the monospecific genus Zestichthys . [7]

Characteristics

Bothrocara eelpouts share the loss of an oral valve with the three sister taxa. They also share the absence of a pelvic fin and compared to other Lycodin eelpouts they do not display marked sexual dimorphism. [4] In his original description of the genus Bean stated that it bore a resemblance to the genus Maynea but lacked teeth on the vomer and palate with the small teeth in the jaws being arranged in narrow bands with very few on the lower jaw. There are six branchiostegals and the gill membrane is narrowly attached to the isthmus. There are large pores along the jaws and these extend rearwards onto the operculum. The front part of the body is naked, with no scales. The dorsal fin has its origin over the that of the pectoral fin and is continuous with the anal fin. [8] However, later authors state that these fish do have vomerine and palatine teeth and that most species, other than the type species, are extensively scaled. [9] These fishes range in size from a maximum published standard length of 14.5 cm (5.7 in) in B. pusillum to 64.5 cm (25.4 in) in B. tanakae. [6]

Distributuion and habitat

Bothrocara eelpouts are mainly found in the northern Pacific Ocean with one species, B. elongatum, being found in the eastern central Pacific Ocean as far south as Chile, and another B. molle extending into the southwestern Atlantic Ocean. [2] They are demersal fish and can be found in shallow and deep water, mainly along continental slopes. [4]

Related Research Articles

The eelpouts are the ray-finned fish family Zoarcidae. As the common name suggests, they are somewhat eel-like in appearance. All of the roughly 300 species are marine and mostly bottom-dwelling, some at great depths. Eelpouts are predominantly found in the Northern Hemisphere. The arctic, north pacific and north Atlantic oceans have the highest concentration of species, however species are found around the globe.

Aiakas is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Zoarcidae the eelpouts. These fishes are found in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean.

Lycodes is a genus of zoarcid fish in the subfamily Lycodinae. It is the most species-rich genus in its taxonomic family as well as in the Arctic Ocean and adjacent waters. They occupy both shallow waters and deeper waters down to 3000 meters. A few species can occur in brackish waters.

<i>Lycodichthys</i> Genus of fishes

Lycodichthys is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. They are found in the Southern Ocean.

<i>Lycenchelys</i> Genus of fishes

Lycenchelys is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. The genus has almost cosmopolitan distribution.

Andriashevia is a monospecific genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the subfamiy Gymnelinae of the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts, its only species is Andriasheevia aptera. It is found in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, where it occurs off the Pacific coast of Japan. It appears to be a demersal fish which is associated with large red gorgonian corals, e.g. Paragorgia. Examinations of the stomach contents of collected specimens has shown that its diet is mainly crustaceans but it likely also feeds on encrusting invertebrates which it searches for among coral branches and the hard substrates they live in. This species attains a maximum published standard length of 19.3 cm (7.6 in). Unlike other species in the subfamily Gymnelinae, this taxon has no pectoral fins. The genus name honours the Soviet ichthyologist Anatoly Petrovich Andriashev for his work on fishes of the Russian Far East and especially eelpouts. The specific name, aptera means "without wings" and refers to the absence of pectoral fins.

Lycodinae is a subfamily of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. These eelpouts are found are in all the world's oceans, with a number of species being found off southern South America.

<i>Austrolycus</i>

Austrolycus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. The two species in this genus are found in the southeastern Pacific Ocean and the western South Atlantic Ocean off southern South America and the Falkland Islands.

Bellingshausenia is a monospecific genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. Its only species is Bellingshausenia olasoi which is only known from the Bellingshausen Sea in the Southern Ocean.

Bentartia is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. Some authorities treat this genus as monospecific, with the only species being Bentartia cinerea of the Southern Ocean, but other authorities include 4 species from the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Bothrocarina is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. The two species in this genus are found in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean.

The cuskpout is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. It is the only species in the monospecific genus Derepodichthys and is found in the eastern North Pacific Ocean.

Dieidolycus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. The genus comprises three species which are found in the western central Pacific, southeastern Pacific and Southern Oceans.

<i>Iluocoetes</i>

Iluocoetes is a monospecific genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. The only species in the genus is Iluocoetes fimbriatus. This species is found off southern South America, off Chile and Argentina, in the southeastern Pacific and southwestern Atlantic Oceans.

Lycodapus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. The species in this genus are found in the Pacific and Southern Oceans.

Lycodonus is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. The species in this genus are found in the North and Southern Atlantic Ocean. These fishes are sometimes called scutepouts.

<i>Lycogrammoides</i>

Lycogrammoides is a monospecific genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. Its only species is Lycogrammoides schmidti, a rare species of the Sea of Okhotsk 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.

Maynea is a monospecific genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. Its only species is Maynea puncta which is found in the Magellan Province of the southeastern Pacific Ocean and the southwestern Atlantic Ocean.

Lycozoarces is a monospecific genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts, its only species being Lycozoarces regani. It is the only genus in the monogeneric subfamily Lycozoarinae. This taxon occurs in the northwestern Pacific Ocean in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Tatar Strait in the northern Sea of Japan

References

  1. 1 2 3 Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Lycodinae". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Bothrocara". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  3. ↑ Anderson , M. E. and V. V . Fedorov (2004). "Family Zoarcidae Swainson 1839 — eelpouts" (PDF). California Academy of Sciences Annotated Checklists of Fishes. 34.
  4. 1 2 3 M. Eric Anderson; Duane E. Stevenson; Gento Shinohara (2009). "Systematic review of the genus Bothrocara Bean 1890 (Teleostei: Zoarcidae)". Ichthyological Research. 56 (2): 172–194. doi:10.1007/s10228-008-0086-6.
  5. ↑ Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (6 May 2022). "Order Perciformes Suborder Cottoidea: Infraorder Zoarcales: Family: Zoarcidae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  6. 1 2 Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2022). Species of Bothrocara in FishBase . June 2022 version.
  7. ↑ A. V. Balushkin; B. A. Sheiko; V. V. Fedorov (2011). "Catalog of the archival collection of the Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences: Class osteichthyes (Bony Fishes), order perciformes, family Zoarcidae". Journal of Ichthyology. 51: 950–1034. doi:10.1134/S0032945211100031.
  8. ↑ Bean, T. H. (1890). "Scientific results of explorations by the U. S. Fish Commission steamer Albatross. No. XI. New fishes collected off the coast of Alaska and the adjacent region southward". Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 13 (795): 37–45.
  9. ↑ M. Eric Anderson (1994). "Systematics and Osteology of the Zoarcidae (Teleostei: Perciformes)". Ichthyological Bulletin of the J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology (60).
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