Deepsea lizardfish

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Deepsea lizardfish
Bathysaurus ferox0.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Aulopiformes
Family: Bathysauridae
Genus: Bathysaurus
Species:
B. ferox
Binomial name
Bathysaurus ferox
Günther, 1878

The deepsea lizardfish, Bathysaurus ferox, is an aulopiform of the family Bathysauridae, found in tropical and subtropical seas across the world. The deepsea lizardfish should not be confused with the true or "typical" lizardfishes of the related family Synodontidae.

Contents

Taxonomy

Deepsea lizardfishes were first described in 1878 by British zoologist Albert Günther, who created the generic name from ancient Greek word elements "báthos" and "saûros" meaning "lizard of the depths". Previously recognized in the synodontidae, in 1996, Robert Karl Johnson et al. showed its relationships outside synodontidae, in its own family in the suborder Giganturoidei. [2]

At the beginning of the century, Bathysaurus ferox larvae were thought to be a distinct species called Macristium chavesi. Johnson gave evidence of the synonymy of the two species. [3]

Appearance

Bathysaurus ferox Formalin.jpg
B. ferox waiting for prey Expl9673 (14504098414).jpg
B. ferox waiting for prey

Deep-sea lizardfish resemble shallow-water lizardfishes, as reflected in their common names. Adults reach over 70 cm in length, and have a slender, cylindrical body. Their lizard-like bony head is flattened, unlike in most fishes, and an enormous mouth is filled with multiple series of long, sharp and needle like teeth for piercing and trapping prey. Bathysaurus ferox are whitish, grey or brown in color, and are covered in tough scales, which are enlarged along the lateral line. The large, well developed eyes, with large pupils, are evidence of the importance of vision for prey detection. Although residual sunlight does not penetrate the depths inhabited by deep-sea lizardfish, their eyes aid in detecting distinct sources of residual or bioluminescent light. [4] Deep-sea lizardfish have been known to have an expansive liver constituting up to 20% of total weight, serving as an energy reserve to sustain growth between sporadic feeding episodes. [5]

Habitat

Deepsea lizardfish are typical inhabitants of the deep ocean floor. They are found circumglobally, in tropical and temperate latitudes (65° N to 40° S) at depths of 600–3,500 m in the aphotic zone, where water temperatures range between 4 and 3 °C. [6]

The energy-poor ecosystem dictates low population densities. Along the Mid-Atlantic Bight, a density of 0–8 fish per 25 x 103 m2 has been reported. [5]

Feeding habits

Deepsea lizardfish are one of the world's deepest living apex predators, and will not hesitate to eat anything they meet, including their own kind. They are predominantly piscivores, hunting deep-dwelling demersal and bathypelagic fishes. Occasionally, they also feed on crustaceans and molluscs, as well as on dead fish drifting down from above.

Most of the time, the deepsea lizardfish maintains a motionless stance on the substrate, with head and fore-body raised, waiting for prey. [7] Being well equipped to pursue and devour whole prey, it captures it by lunging forward in a sudden rapid burst, accompanied by a snap of its trap-like jaws. [5]

Conservation

Although they are common inhabitants of the ocean floor, these deep-sea fish are considered a conservation concern. [7]

Reproduction

Deepsea lizardfish are hermaphrodites, bearing both male and female sex organs, thought to be an adaptation to low population densities. Mature gonads found in samples from November to January off the coast of Virginia show that their reproduction is synchronous, a means of maximizing breeding population densities without increasing the size of the feeding population. Mean fecundity rates of around 32,000 ova per fish were observed for eight specimens. Not much is known about their mating habits; however, larval deepsea lizardfish have been recorded at the surface of the ocean. [5]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aulopiformes</span> Order of fishes

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<i>Alepisaurus ferox</i> Species of fish

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Synodontidae</span> Family of fishes

The Synodontidae or lizardfishes are benthic (bottom-dwelling) marine and estuarine bony fishes that belong to the aulopiform fish order, a diverse group of marine ray-finned fish consisting of some 15 extant and several prehistoric families. They are found in tropical and subtropical marine waters throughout the world.

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Saurida undosquamis, the brushtooth lizardfish, large-scale grinner or largescale saury, is a type of lizardfish, a demersal species that occurs in the Eastern Indian Ocean, Malay Peninsula, northern Java, Arafura Sea, Louisiade Archipelago, southern Philippines and northern Australia,. Reports of its occurrence in the Red Sea region and introduction to the Mediterranean are questionable,.

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<i>Bathypterois</i> Genus of fishes

Bathypterois is a genus of deepsea tripod fishes. They are a diverse genus that belong to the greater family Ipnopidae and order Aulopiformes. They are distinguished by having two elongated pelvic fins and an elongated caudal fin, which allow them to move and stand on the ocean floor, much like a tripod, hence the common name. Bathypterois are distributed worldwide with some particular species of the genus having specialized environmental niches, such as lower dissolved oxygen concentrations. Bathypterois have a reduced eye size, highly specified extended fins, and a mouth adapted to filter feeding. They are filter feeders whose main food source is benthopelagic planktonic calanoid copepods, but some variation is seen with maturity in secondary food sources. Bathypterois use their three elongated fins for a wide range of motion from landing to standing on the ocean floor to catching prey, for which these fins serve as specialized perceptory organs. Bathypterois have both male and female gonads at once making, them simultaneous hermaphrodites, whose gonads go through five stages of development following seasonal autumn spawning.

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References

  1. ↑ de Morais, L.; de Bruyne, G.; Carpenter, K.E.; Smith-Vaniz, W.F. (2015). "Bathysaurus ferox". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2015: e.T13462491A15603145. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T13462491A15603145.en . Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  2. ↑ Nelson, J. S. (2006). Fishes of the World (4 ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. p. 222. ISBN   978-0-471-25031-9.
  3. ↑ Johnson, Robert Karl (1974). "A Macristium larva from the Gulf of Mexico with additional evidence for the synonymy of Macristium with Bathysaurus (Myctophiformes: Bathysauridae)". Copeia. 1974 (4): 973–977. doi:10.2307/1442599. JSTOR   1442599.
  4. ↑ Davis, Matthew P.; Fielitz, Christopher (2010). "Estimating divergence times of lizardfishes and their allies (Euteleostei: Aulopiformes) and the timing of deep-sea adaptations". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 57 (3): 1194–1208. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2010.09.003. PMID   20854916.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Sulak, Kenneth J.; Wenner, Charles A.; Sedberry, George R.; Guelpen, Louis Van (1985). "The life history and systematics of deep-sea lizard fishes, genus Bathysaurus (Synodontidae)". Canadian Journal of Zoology. 63 (3): 623–642. doi:10.1139/z85-091.
  6. ↑ Sulak (1990). Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic.
  7. 1 2 Baker, Krista D.; Haedrich, Richard L.; Snelgrove, Paul V.R.; Wareham, Vonda E.; Edinger, Evan N.; Gilkinson, Kent D. (2012). "Small-scale patterns of deep-sea fish distributions and assemblages of the Grand Banks, Newfoundland continental slope". Deep-Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers. 65: 171–188. doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2012.03.012.
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