Cynoponticus | |
---|---|
Cynoponticus savanna | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Anguilliformes |
Family: | Muraenesocidae |
Genus: | Cynoponticus O. G. Costa, 1845 [1] |
Type species | |
Cynoponticus ferox Costa, 1846 [1] | |
Species | |
3 described species, see text |
Cynoponticus is a genus of marine ray-fiined fishes belonging to the family Muraenesocidae, the pike congers. The fishes in this genus are found in the Eastern and Western Atlantic Oceans and the Eastern Pacific Ocean, with a single parapatric species in each region.
Cynoponticus was first proposed as a genus in 1845 by the Italian zoologist Oronzio Gabriele Costa, although the formal description of what was then its only species, C. ferox, was not published until 1846. [1] The pages of Costa's publication were sold separately, in sets which were not organised systematically or chronologically, hence the different publication dates. [2] The type locality of C. ferox was given as Ischia, an island in the Gulf of Naples. [3] This genus is classified within the family Muraenesocidae, part of the suborder Congroidei in the order Anguilliformes, the eels. [4]
Cyanoponticus combins cynos, the latinised form of kynos, a Greek word for dog" with ponticus, meaning "of the sea", and so means "sea dog". This name is an allusion to the freocious appearrance of C. ferox which Costa described as having a "large mouth armed … with feral teeth". [2]
Cynoponticus has the following three species classified within it: [3] [5]
Cynoponticus pike congers have heavy bodies with large conical heads, the tail is equivalent to 60% of the total length. The eyes are covered in skin, the anterior nostril is tube-shaped while the posterior nostril is an elliptical hole. The mouth is long with robust jaws which have multipe rows of well developed teeth, with another three rows of vomerine teeth, the middle rwo being very well developed and triangular. The larger teeth at the front of the lower jaw fit into a groove on the underside of the snout. The crescent-shaped gill openings are large, low set and almost meeet ventrally. The large pectoral fins are centred on the upper margin of the gill openings.The long dorsal and anal fins merge with the caudal fin, the dorsal fin has its origin either above or just in front of the gill openinds. The obvious lateral line runs along the whole length of the body, with many systems of open pores, although there are no pores on the head. [6] The largest published total length for this genus is 202 cm (80 in) for a red pike conger (C. coniceps). [5]
Cynoponticus pike congers are tropical and subtropical species with one species,C. coniceps, in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, another, C. savanna, in the Western Atlantic and the third, C. ferox, in the Eastern Atlantic. [6] They are found over soft substrates at depths down to 100 m (330 ft). [5]
The footballfish form a family, Himantolophidae, of globose, deep-sea anglerfishes found in tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Ocean. The family contains 23 species, all of which are classified in a single genus, Himantolophus.
Cyema is a monospecific genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the monotypic family Cyematidae. The only species in the genus is Cyema atrum, the arrow eel, bobtail eel, bobtail snipe eel or deepwater eel. This species has circumglobal distribution.
Double anglers, the family Diceratiidae, is a small and little known family of rarely encountered marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Lophiiformes, the anglerfishes. The two genera and seven species of this family are found in the deeper waters of the tropical and subtropical Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. They are distinguished from other deep sea anglerfishes by the possession of a second bioluminescent cephalic spine. The fishes in this family were known only from metamorphosed females and the males were not described until 1983.
Oneirodidae, the dreamers are a family of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Lophiiformes, the anglerfishes. These fishes are deepwater fishes found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans, and it is the most diverse family of fishes in the bathypelagic zone.
Cirrhitichthys is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, hawkfishes, from the family Cirrhitidae. They are found on tropical reefs in the Indian and western Pacific oceans. Some species can be found in the aquarium trade.
Balistes is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Balistidae, the triggerfishes. The triggerfishes in this genus are found in the Atlantic and eastern Pacific Ocean.
Anarhichas is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Anarhichadidae, the wolffishes or sea wolves. These fishes are found in the northern North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans.
The Muraenesocidae, or pike congers, are a small family of marine eels found worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas. Some species are known to enter brackish water.
Gigantactis is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Gigantactinidae, the whipnose anglers. The fishes in this genus have a circumglobal distribution in the deep waters of the tropical and temperate zones of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Dibranchus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Ogcocephalidae, the deep sea batfishes. The fishes in this genus are widely distributed in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Congresox is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Muraenesocidae, the pike congers. The fishes in this genus are found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
The yellow pike conger is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Muraenesocidae, the pike congers. This fish is found in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.
Cynoponticus coniceps, the red pike conger or conehead eel, is an eel in the family Muraenesocidae. It was described by David Starr Jordan and Charles Henry Gilbert in 1882, originally under the genus Muraenesox. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the eastern central and southeastern Pacific Ocean, including Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Peru, and Nicaragua. It dwells at a depth range of 10 to 100 metres, and inhabits sediments of sand and mud. Males can reach a maximum total length of 202 centimetres (80 in); the maximum recorded weight is 11.0 kilograms (24.3 lb).
Cirrhitus is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, hawkfishes from the family Cirrhitidae. The species in this genus are found on tropical reefs worldwide.
Wilhelm's hawkfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a hawkfish belonging to the family Cirrhitidae. It is found in tropical waters at depths of 1 to 55 m over rocky substrates. It is only known around Pitcairn Island and Easter Island. This species grows to a length of 12 cm (4.7 in). This species is the only known member of its genus.
Congroidei is a suborder of ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Anguilliformes, the eels. These eels are mostly marine, although a few species of snake eel will enter freshwater, and they are found in tropical and tempareate waters throughout the world.
Umbrina is a genus of fish from the croaker family Sciaenidae. The genus contains 17 species occurring in tropical and warm temperate waters of the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, the Western Indian Ocean and the eastern Pacific.
Atractoscion is a genus of marine ray-finned fished belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. The fishes in this genus are found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.
The radiated shanny 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 Ulvaria. This fish is found in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean.
Ilyophinae, the arrowtooth ells or mustard eels, is a subfamily of marine ray-finned fishes belongiing to the family Synaphobranchidae, the cutthroat eels. Within its family this subfamily shows greatest number of species and the greatest morphological diversity.