Ogcocephalus vespertilio | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Lophiiformes |
Family: | Ogcocephalidae |
Genus: | Ogcocephalus |
Species: | O. vespertilio |
Binomial name | |
Ogcocephalus vespertilio | |
Synonyms [2] | |
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Ogcocephalus vespertilio, the Brazilian batfish or seadevil, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ogcocephalidae, the deep sea batfishes. This species is found in the Western Atlantic Oceean. The Brazilian batfsish is the type species of the genus Ogcocephalus .
Ogcocephalus vespertilio was first formally described as Lophius vespsertilio by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae with its type locality given as the "American Ocean". [3] In 1813 Gotthelf Fischer von Waldheim proposed the genus Ogcocephalus and in 1896 David Starr Jordan and Barton Warren Evermann descignated Linnaeus's L. vespertilio as the type species of this genus. [4] The genus Ogcocephalus is classified within the "Eastern Pacific/Western Atlantic clade" of the family Ogcocephalidae. [5] The family Ogcocephalidae is classified in the monotypic suborder Ogcocephaloidei within the order Lophiiformes, the anglerfishes in the 5th edition of Fishes of the World . [6]
Ogcocephalus vespertilio is the type species of the genus Ogcocephalus, the name of which is a combination of ogkos, which means “hook”, and cephalus, meaning “head”, an allusion to the pointed rostrum on the snout of the type species. The specific name vespertilio, means "bat", this probably goes back to the name "Sea Batt", a common name probably first mentioned in Patrick Browne;s Civil and Natural History of Jamaica published in 1756, which said “by the extension of its side-fins and its small ventrals, represents a bat in some measure, whence its name”. [7]
Ogcocephalus vespertilio has a very elongated rostrum, elongated rostra are present in C. corniger and O. pumilus but these species have lower pectoral fin ray counts. The flattened head and body of this fish, thee "disc" is made up of the head and the body as far as the axilla of the pelvic fins, the forward edge of the disc is made up of the extended bones of the operculum sweeping backwards from the cranium and surrounding the trunk on either side. [8] The horn-like rostrum on the snout varies from short to long and projects far beyond the eyes. The esca has 3 fleshy points and is kept on a small illivial cavity us small and is located under the rostrum. There is a spine at the angle of the operculum which is blunt or small, or to may be large but has no spinules. The gill rakers are oval-shaped plates with a covering of small teeth. The eyes are on the sides of the head. The gill openings are small and are located to the rear of the upper bases of the pectoral fin. The pectoral and pelvic fins are resemble limbs and the pectoral fins are wholly separate from body. Thee small dorsal and anal fins are covered in skin and are located on the upper and lower surfaces of the tail. The dorsal surface of the body has scales that resemble large bucklers and conical spines. The ventral surface of the body is wholly covered in pointed, bony scales while the ventral surface of the tail has a dense covering of small spines, sometimes with a small number of conical spines along its midline. In preserved specimens the overall colour on the upper parts is brown marked with dark spots with pale lines between them. It has pale lips and a pale underside. [8] The Brazilian seabt has a maximum published total length of 30.5 cm (12.0 in) and a maximum published weight of 60.8 g (2.14 oz). [2]
Ogcocephalus vespertilio is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean along the coast of South America from Suriname in the north to Buenos Aires in the south. It occurs at depths between 24 and 66 m (79 and 217 ft) on soft substrates on the continental shelf, even entering the lower parts of estuaries. [1] Ahere is a remarkable instance of a specimen of this species being found in pure freshwater between 1,300 and 1,400 km (810 and 870 mi) upstream from the mouth of the Amazon. [9]
Ogcocephalus vespertilio is a predatory and it is a crepuscular and nocturnal hunter of benthic invertebrates. During the day it remains still and concealed in holes or crevices in rocks or among rocks on the sea bed. It forages by walking over the bottom suing its limb like pelvic and pectoral fins with its illicium extended and shivering, or being used to explore the bottom. The prey is then either snapped up by the mouth from the bottom, after visual detection, or excavated by the fish using its mouth and rostrum. The prey taken includes crustaceans, such as hermit crabs, crabs, shrimps, amphipods, porcelain crabs, isopods and mysid shrimps; molluscs such as snails, sea slugs and clams, as well as polychaetes and echinoderms. [10]
Ogcocephalus vespertilio is a common batfish in public aquaria, particularly in European aquaria. It is also used by indigenous peoples in teh Amazon to treat asthma. [9]
The pancake batfish, Atlantic pancake batfish, Louisiana pancake batfish or spiny batfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ogcocephalidae, the deep sea batfishes or seabats. This species is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean.
Ogcocephalidae is a family of anglerfish specifically adapted for a benthic lifestyle of crawling about on the seafloor. Ogcocephalid anglerfish are sometimes referred to as batfishes, deep-sea batfishes, handfishes, and seabats. They are found in tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide. They are mostly found at depths between 200 and 3,000 m, but have been recorded as deep as 4,000 m (13,000 ft). A few species live in much shallower coastal waters and, exceptionally, may enter river estuaries.
The red-lipped batfish or Galápagos batfish is a fish of unusual morphology found around the Galápagos Islands and off Peru at depths of 3 to 76 m. Red-lipped batfish are closely related to rosy-lipped batfish, which are found near Cocos Island off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. This fish is mainly known for its bright red lips. Batfish are not good swimmers; they use their highly adapted pectoral, pelvic and anal fins to "walk" on the ocean floor. When the batfish reaches maturity, its dorsal fin becomes a single spine-like projection.
Ogcocephalus parvus, the roughback batfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ogcocephalidae, the batifishes. This species has a wide distribution in the Western Atlantic Ocean.
Malthopsis, the gnome batfishes or triangular batfishes, is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Ogcocephalidae, the deep sea batfishes. The triangular batfishes are distributed throughout the warmer waters of the world, although they are absent from the Eastern Atlantic Ocean. The genus was originally proposed in 1891 by the British naturalist Alfred W. Alcock.
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.
Ogcocephalus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Ogcocephalidae, the deep sea batfishes. The species in this genus are found in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and Western Atlantic Ocean, with most species in the eastern Atlantic Ocean where they live at shallower depths than the other ogcocephalid genera.
Ogcocephalus radiatus or the polka-dot batfish is an arrow-shaped fish in the family Ogcocephalidae with an elongated thin tail. It is dorso-ventrally flattened with round pectoral fins that sit flat on the bottom of the sea floor. It uses its pectoral fins and pelvic fins to "walk" along the bottom in a side-to-side shuffling motion.
Ogcocephalus corniger, the longnose batfish, is a species of ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ogcocephalidae, the deep sea batfishes. This fish is found at depths between 29 and 230 m in the Atlantic Ocean, ranging from North Carolina to the Gulf of Mexico and the Bahamas. Like other members of the family Ogcocephalidae, it has a flat triangular body with coloring varying from yellowish to purple with pale, round spots. The lips are orange-red. Projecting from its head is a characteristic structure that is shared by other anglerfish.
Halieutichthys bispinosus, the two-spine batfish or spiny batfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ogcocephalidae, the deep sea batfishes or seabats. This species is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean.
Ogcocephalus notatus, the marked batfish, is a species of ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ogcocephalidae, the deep sea batfishes. It is found in the tropical western Atlantic Ocean.
Malthopsis gnoma, the Atlantic triangular batfish, gnome seabat or grotesque seabat, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ogcocephalidae, the deep-sea batfishes. The grotesque seabat is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean, in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean.
Ogcocephalus porrectus, the rosy-lipped batfish, is endemic to Cocos Island off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Though members of Ogcocephalidae occur in tropical, warm waters in both the Western Atlantic and Eastern Pacific. Rosy-lipped batfish generally reside in shallow to deep water benthic zones with a bathymetric range of 35 – 150 m. The syntypic series was collected at 120 m on a rocky bottom. What makes this fish distinctive are its rosy red lips, specialized pectoral fins used for "walking", and an illicium used for attracting prey.
The Atlantic batfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ogcocephalidae, the deep-sea batfishes. It is found in deep water in the Atlantic Ocean where it lives on the seabed, feeding on small invertebrates.
Ogcocephalus declivirostris, the slantbrow batfish, is a species of ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ogcocephalidae, the deep sea batfishes. This species is found in the western Atlantic Ocean from the northern Gulf of Mexico to the Straits of Florida.
Ogcocephalus pantostictus, the spotted batfish, is a species of ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ogcocephalidae, the deep sea batfishes. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean, somewhat restricted to the northern and the western Gulf of Mexico.
Ogcocephalus pumilus, the dwarf batfish, is a species of ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ogcocephalidae, the deep sea batfishes. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean. It is the smallest species in the genus Ogcocephalus.
Ogcocephalus rostellum, the palefin batfish, is a species of ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ogcocephalidae, the deep sea batfishes. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean.
Ogcocephalus cubifrons, the spotted batfish or polka-dot batfish, is a species of ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ogcocephalidae, the deep sea batfishes. This is an uncommon demersal fish found in the Western Atlantic Ocean and the southern Gulf of Mexico, in the United States, Mexico and the Bahamas.
Ogcocephalus nasutus, the shortnose batfish, is a species of ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ogcocephalidae, the deep sea batfishes. This species is found in the western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean.