Fanfin

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Fanfin
Caulophryne pelagica facing left.jpg
Caulophryne pelagica
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Lophiiformes
Suborder: Ceratioidei
Family: Caulophrynidae
Goode & T. H. Bean, 1896
Genera

see text

Fanfins or hairy anglerfish are a family, Caulophrynidae, of marine ray-finned fishes within the order Lophiiformes, the anglerfishes. The fishes in this family are found almost around the world in the deeper, aphotic waters of the oceans.

Contents

Taxonomy

The fanfin family, Caulophrynidae, was first proposed in 1896 by the American ichthyologists George Brown Goode and Tarleton Hoffman Bean. [1] The 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies the Caulophrynidae within the suborder Ceratioidei of the order Lophiiformes. [2] This family was thought to be basal within the suborder Ceratioidei of the anglerfish order Lophiiformes, but phylogenetic analyses have recovered it as forming a sister taxon to the clade containing Gigantactinidae, Neoceratiidae, and Linophrynidae, and so they are deeply embedded within the suborder. [3] However, molecular studies show that the familial relationships within the Ceratoidei are still to be fully resolved and Caulophrynidae may be the most basal taxon in the suborder. [4]

Etymology

The fanfin family, Caulophrynidae, takes its name from the genus Caulophryne. This name is a combination of caulis, which mean" stem", an allusion to the stem-like base of the illicium, with phryne, meaning "toad", a suffix commonly used in the names of anglerfish genera. Its use may date as far back as Aristotle and Cicero, who referred to anglerfishes as “fishing-frogs” and “sea-frogs,” respectively, possibly because of their resemblance to frogs and toads. [5]

Genera

The fanfin family, Caulophrynidae, contains the following two genera: [6]

Characteristics

Fanfins have a high degree of sexual dimorphism. The females have short, round bodies with large mouths. The lower jaw reaches back past the base of the pectoral fin. The teeth in the jaws are thin, backwards curving and depressible. They have highly elongated dorsal and anal fins, with the soft rays of these fins resembling long threads. There are 8 fin rays in the caudal fin. They do not have pelvic fins. The sensory cells of the lateral line system are at the tips of the filamentous rays of the dorsal and anal fins. They have a simple esca, or lure, which lacks a bulb but which may have filaments or appendages. The skin is naked and they do not have any dermal spines. The males are much smaller than the females and have more elongated bodies. They have large eyes and large nostrils, with large olfactory receptors. They have no teeth in the jaws, although there are tooth-like structures on the jaw bones which are used to attach to the larger female. The male do not have elongated dorsal and anal fins but so have large pectoral fins. [7] The juveniles are the only ceratoid anglerfishes to have pelvic fins. [2] The largest species of fanfin is Caulophryne polynema with a maximum published total length of 21 cm (8.3 in). [8]

Distribution and habitat

Fanfins are found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans where they live in the bathypelagic zone. [9]

Biology

Fanfins are predators on other fishes. They reproduce by means of pelagic eggs which hatch into pelagic larvae. The short, rounded larvae have swollen skin and well-developed pectoral and pelvic fins, the pelvic fins being lost as they metamorphose. Both larval males and females have a basic illicium. Metamorphosis starts at a standard length of 8 to 10 mm (0.31 to 0.39 in). [7] The large, well-developed eyes and olfactory apparatus of the metamorphosed males are used to detect and home in on a species specific chemical released by the female to attract males. When the male finds a female he bites her and the tissue and circulatory systems of the pair fuse, he becomes a sexual parasite on the female and is nourished by the female through shared blood. For the remainder of his life he is attached to the female and fertilises her eggs. [10]

Related Research Articles

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

Leftvents are a family, the Linophrynidae, of marine ray-finned fishes which is classified within the suborder Ceratioidei, the deep sea anglerfishes. These fishes are found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.

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

Ceratiidae, the warty sea devils, caruncled seadevils or seadevils, are a family of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the suborder Ceratioidei, the deep-sea anglerfishes, in the anglerfish order Lophiiformes. The warty sea devils are sexually dimorphic with the small males being obligate sexual parasites of the much larger females. The fishes in this family are widely distributed from polar to tropical seas around the world.

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

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.

Thaumatichthyidae, the wolftrap anglers, is a small family of marine ray-finned fishes, also called the wolftrap seadevils, classified within the suborder Ceratioidei, the deep-sea anglerfishes. They have distinctive upper jaws with movable premaxillaries that can be lowered to form a cage-like trap around the much shorter lower jaw.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toothed seadevil</span> Species of fish

The toothed seadevil, spiny seadevil or netbeard seadevil,, is a rarely seen deep-sea anglerfish found in the mesopelagic and bathypelagic zones in Oceans around the World. It is the only species in the family Neoceratidae, and is unique amongst the deep-sea anglerfish in lacking an illicium and esca, and in having large teeth placed on the outside of its jaws.

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

The whipnose anglers are a family, the Gigantactinidae, of marine ray-finned fishes which is classified within the suborder Ceratioidei, the deep sea anglerfishes. These fishes are found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.

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

Black seadevils are small, deepsea lophiiform fishes of the family Melanocetidae. The five known species are all within the genus Melanocetus. They are found in tropical to temperate waters of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans, with one species known only from the Ross Sea.

<i>Caulophryne polynema</i> Species of fish

Caulophryne polynema is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Caulophrynidae, the fanfins. This species is a deepwater species which is found in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Like other deepwater anglerfishes it shows extreme sexual dimorphism with the males being much smaller than the females and acting as sexual parasites of the females.

<i>Caulophryne</i> Genus of fishes

Caulophryne is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Caulophrynidae, the fanfins or hairy anglerfishes. These fishes are found throughout the non-polar oceans of the world.

Robia is a monospecific genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Caulophrynidae, the fanfins. Its only species is Robia legula which is known from a single specimen collected in the western central Pacific Ocean where it is found at depths of 1,000 to 1,500 metres.

<i>Ceratias</i> Genus of fishes

Ceratias is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ceratiidae, the warty sea devils. This fishes in this genus are found throughpuit the world's oceans.

<i>Diceratias</i> Genus of fishes

Diceratias is a genus of deep sea marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Diceratiidae, the double anglers. These fishes are found in the Eastern Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions.

Dolopichthys is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Oneirodidae, the dreamers, a family of deep sea anglerfishes. These predatory, deep-sea fishes are found in the tropical and subtropical oceans around the world.

<i>Oneirodes</i> Genus of fishes

Oneirodes is a genus of is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Oneirodidae, the dreamers, a family of deep sea anglerfishes. These predatory, deep-sea fishes are found around the world. This is the type genus, and the most speciose genus, of the family Oneirodidae. They are sexually dimorphic but, like most taxa within their family, the small males are free living and are not sexual parasites on the larger females. Only the females are used to identify the species in this genus as no species specific charaxcters have been found for males.

<i>Caulophryne pelagica</i> Species of fish

Caulophryne pelagica is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Caulophrynidae, the fanfins. This species is a deepwater species which is found in the eastern Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean and Southern Ocean. Its biology is little known but similar species show extreme sexual dimorphism with the very small makes seeking out and attaching themselves to the much larger females and becoming parasites of the females.

<i>Caulophryne jordani</i> Species of fish

Caulophryne jordani, the fanfin angler, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Caulophrynidae, the fanfins. This species is a deepwater species which is found in Oceanic waters around the world. Like other deepwater anglerfishes it shows extreme sexual dimorphism with the males being much smaller than the females and acting as sexual parasites of the females.

Caulophryne bacescui of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Caulophrynidae, the fanfins or hairy anglerfishes. It is known from a single specimen collected from the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

Gigantactis elsmani, Elsman's whipnose, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Gigantactinidae, the whipnose anglers. This species is found in the deeper waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ceratioidei</span> Suborder of fishes

Ceratioidei, the deep-sea anglerfishes or pelagic anglerfishes, is a suborder of marine ray-finned fishes, one of four suborders in the order Lophiiformes, the anglerfishes. These fishes are found in tropical and temperate seas throughout the world. One of the better known traits of the deep-sea anglerfishes is their extreme sexual dimorphism where the males are many times smaller than the females, the males seek out females and use their sharp teeth to clamp onto the females where he remains for the rest of his life, in some species he becomes part of the female. This is the only known natural example of a process called parabiosis. Another common trait of deep-sea anglerfishes is that they use bioluminescence on their esca to attract prey in the darkness of the deep oceans they inhabit.

<i>Acentrophryne longidens</i> Species of fish

Acentrophryne longidens is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Linophryidae, the leftvents, a family of deep sea anglerfishes. This species is only known from the eastern Pacific Ocean off the coast of Costa Rica and Panama.

References

  1. Richard van der Laan; William N. Eschmeyer & Ronald Fricke (2014). "Family-group names of recent fishes". Zootaxa. 3882 (2): 1–230. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.3882.1.1 . PMID   25543675.
  2. 1 2 Nelson, J.S.; Grande, T.C.; Wilson, M.V.H. (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 508–518. doi:10.1002/9781119174844. ISBN   978-1-118-34233-6. LCCN   2015037522. OCLC   951899884. OL   25909650M.
  3. Theodore W. Pietsch and James Wilder Orr (2007). "Phylogenetic Relationships of Deep-sea Anglerfishes of the Suborder Ceratioidei (Teleostei: Lophiiformes) Based on Morphology". Copeia. 2007 (1): 1–34. doi:10.1643/0045-8511(2007)7[1:PRODAO]2.0.CO;2.
  4. Arnold, Rachel J. (2014). Evolutionary Relationships of the Enigmatic Anglerfishes (Teleostei: Lophiiformes): Can Nuclear DNA Provide Resolution for Conflicting Morphological and Mitochondrial Phylogenies? (PhD thesis). University of Washington.
  5. Christopher Scharpf (3 June 2024). "Order LOPHIIFORMES (part 2): Families CAULOPHRYNIDAE, NEOCERATIIDAE, MELANOCETIDAE, HIMANTOLOPHIDAE, DICERATIIDAE, ONEIRODIDAE, THAUMATICHTHYIDAE, CENTROPHRYNIDAE, CERATIIDAE, GIGANTACTINIDAE and LINOPHRYNIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  6. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Family Caulophrynidae". FishBase . February 2024 version.
  7. 1 2 Dianne J. Bray. "Fanfin Anglers, CAULOPHRYNIDAE". Fishes of Australia. Museums Victoria. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  8. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2024). Species of Caulophryne in FishBase . February 2024 version.
  9. Theodore W. Pietsch (1979). "Systematics and distribution of ceratioid anglerfishes of the family Caulophrynidae with the description of a new genus and species from the Banda Sea". Contributions in Science. 310: 1–25. doi: 10.5962/p.241256 .
  10. "A blind date in the deep sea: First-ever observations of a living anglerfish, a female with her tiny mate, coupled for life". UWNews. University of Washington. 22 March 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2024.