Dysommina rugosa

Dysommina rugosa
	"Eel City"
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Anguilliformes
Family:	Synaphobranchidae
Genus:	Dysommina
Species:	D. rugosa
Binomial name
	Dysommina rugosa; Ginsburg, 1951 [1]

Last updated March 26, 2019

Dysommina rugosa is an eel in the family Synaphobranchidae (cutthroat eels). It was described by Isaac Ginsburg in 1951.^[2] It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from the western Atlantic and eastern central Pacific Ocean. It dwells at a depth range of 260–775 metres, and is found off the continental slope. Males can reach a maximum total length of 37 centimetres.

An eel is any ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes, which consists of four suborders, 20 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage, and most are predators. The term “eel” originally referred to the European eel, and the name of the order means “European eel-shaped.”

Isaac Ginsburg was a Lithuanian-born American ichthyologist.

Marine biology The scientific study of organisms that live in the ocean

Marine biology is the scientific study of marine life, organisms in the sea. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather than on taxonomy.

Description

D. rugosa is a fairly stout elongated cylindrical fish growing to a total length of about 350 mm (14 in). The snout is fleshy with a number of papillae and tapers towards the front, overhanging the lower jaw. There are two pairs of nostrils, one pair at the tip of the snout and the other pair between the eyes, which are large and circular and covered with skin. There are no premaxillary teeth and the maxillary and dentary teeth are tiny and arranged in a number of irregular rows. The roof of the mouth has four large, compound vomerine teeth. The gill openings are crescent-shaped and about the same size as the eyes. The origin of the dorsal fin is further back than the origin of the pectoral fins. The dorsal and anal fins are confluent with the small caudal fin. The ventral surface of this fish is darker than the head and dorsal surface, and the pectoral, dorsal and anal fins are pale^[3] with yellowish-white edges.^[4]

The vomer is one of the unpaired facial bones of the skull. It is located in the midsagittal line, and articulates with the sphenoid, the ethmoid, the left and right palatine bones, and the left and right maxillary bones. The vomer forms the inferior part of the nasal septum, with the superior part formed by the perpendicular plate of the ethmoid bone. The name is derived from the Latin word for a ploughshare and the shape of the bone.

Distribution and habitat

The species occurs in the tropical western Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico as well as the eastern and central Pacific Ocean and Hawaii. It is a deepwater species found near the seabed on the continental slope at depths between 260 and 775 m (850 and 2,540 ft).^[4]

Eel City

In 2005, during underwater exploration of the caldera of Vailulu'u volcano at a depth of about 700 m (2,300 ft) in the mid-Pacific, it was found that large numbers of eels were present in low-temperature hydrothermal vents at a locality the researchers dubbed "Eel City".^[5] This area had pillow lava flows draped with yellowish microbial mats, and whenever the submersible touched down, previously hidden eels, since identified as Dysommina rugosa, swarmed into the water column. It is thought that the eels hide in crevices in the yellow mats for their own protection and feed on planktonic crustaceans drifting past.^[5]

Vailuluu A volcanic seamount in the Samoa Islands

Vailulu'u is a volcanic seamount discovered by in 1975. It rises from the sea floor to a depth of 593 m and is located between Ta'u and Rose islands at the eastern end of the Samoa hotspot chain. The basaltic seamount is considered to mark the current location of the Samoa hotspot. The summit of Vailulu'u contains a 2 km wide, 400 m deep oval-shaped caldera. Two principal rift zones extend east and west from the summit, parallel to the trend of the Samoan hotspot. A third less prominent rift extends southeast of the summit.

Eel City is the name given to a community of deep-sea eels living amongst hydrothermal vents in the new volcano of Nafanua in American Samoa. It is unique because most hydrothermal vents are predominantly inhabited by invertebrates, whereas there is little invertebrate life in Eel City.

A submersible is a small vehicle designed to operate underwater. The term submersible is often used to differentiate from other underwater vehicles known as submarines, in that a submarine is a fully autonomous craft, capable of renewing its own power and breathing air, whereas a submersible is usually supported by a surface vessel, platform, shore team or sometimes a larger submarine. In common usage by the general public, however, the word submarine may be used to describe a craft that is by the technical definition actually a submersible. There are many types of submersibles, including both crewed and uncrewed craft, otherwise known as remotely operated vehicles or ROVs. Submersibles have many uses worldwide, such as oceanography, underwater archaeology, ocean exploration, adventure, equipment maintenance and recovery, and underwater videography.

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References

↑ Bailly, Nicolas (2008). "Dysommina rugosa Ginsburg, 1951". World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 15 October 2017.
↑ Ginsburg, I., 1951 (30 Sept.) [ref. 1804] The eels of the northern Gulf Coast of the United States and some related species. Texas Journal of Science v. 3 (no. 3): 431–485.
↑ McEachran, John; Fechhelm, Janice D. (2013). Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico, Vol. 1: Myxiniformes to Gasterosteiformes. University of Texas Press. pp. 245–246. ISBN 978-0-292-75705-9.
1 2 "Dysommina rugosa Ginsburg, 1951". FishBase. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
1 2 Young, Craig (31 July 2005). "Eel City and the Moat of Death: An Active Volcano on the Samoan Hotspot". Ocean Explorer. NOAA. Retrieved 19 October 2017.

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[WoRMS-1] Bailly, Nicolas (2008). "Dysommina rugosa Ginsburg, 1951". World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 15 October 2017.

[Ginsburg,_1951-2] Ginsburg, I., 1951 (30 Sept.) [ref. 1804] The eels of the northern Gulf Coast of the United States and some related species. Texas Journal of Science v. 3 (no. 3): 431–485.

[McEachran-3] McEachran, John; Fechhelm, Janice D. (2013). Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico, Vol. 1: Myxiniformes to Gasterosteiformes. University of Texas Press. pp. 245–246. ISBN 978-0-292-75705-9.

[fishbase-4] 1 2 "Dysommina rugosa Ginsburg, 1951". FishBase. Retrieved 15 October 2017.

[NOAA-5] 1 2 Young, Craig (31 July 2005). "Eel City and the Moat of Death: An Active Volcano on the Samoan Hotspot". Ocean Explorer. NOAA. Retrieved 19 October 2017.