Dreamers | |
---|---|
Oneirodes macrosteus | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Lophiiformes |
Suborder: | Ceratioidei |
Family: | Oneirodidae T. N. Gill, 1879 |
Genera | |
Bertella |
The dreamers are a family, Oneirodidae, of deep-sea anglerfishes in the order Lophiiformes. They are the largest and most diverse group of deep-sea anglerfish, and also the least well known with 16 genera represented by only one, two, or three female specimens. [1] There are over 60 species within the family, and that contains more females than males. They are found in deep, temperate waters around the world. They are small fish, the largest species only growing to about 20 cm (7.9 in) in total length. The largest female size that is known is about 370-mm and the largest known male is 16.5 mm. Females are dark brown to black all over their entire body, meanwhile males are also dark brown to black, but the nasal area is not pigmented for them. Female dreamers are found in a preservative dark brown to black color externally except for the escal appendages and distal portion of the escal bulb. Males are also the same color, except in their nasal areas.
Linophryne arborifera, or illuminated netdevil, is an anglerfish of the family Linophrynidae, found in all tropical and subtropical oceans at depths below 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in the Bathyal zone. Its length is up to 77 mm. The female is significantly larger than the mature, parasitic male.
Double anglers are a family, Diceratiidae, of anglerfishes. They are found in deep, lightless waters of the Atlantic, Indian and western Pacific Oceans.
Bertella idiomorpha is a species of deep-sea anglerfish found in the northern Pacific Ocean. It is the only species in the genus Bertella, in the family Oneirodidae, and can be distinguished from other members of the family by the structure of its hyomandibular bone.
The horned lantern fish or prickly seadevil is a deep-sea anglerfish found worldwide. It is the sole species in the family Centrophrynidae, distinguished from other deep-sea anglerfishes by various characters including four pectoral radials, an anterior spine on the subopercular bone, and a short hyoid (chin) barbel in both sexes.
The toothed seadevil, spiny seadevil or netbeard seadevil, (Neoceratias spinifer), is a rarely seen deep-sea anglerfish found in the mesopelagic and bathypelagic zones of the western central Pacific Ocean. 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.
Spiniphryne, also called spiny dreamers, is a genus of dreamers. Like other deep-sea anglerfish, Spiniphryne lure prey to them by means of a modified first dorsal fin ray with a bioluminescent bulb at the tip. Spiniphryne is unique amongst the oneirodids for being covered in tiny spines.
Spiniphryne gladisfenae, also known as the prickly dreamer, is a species of dreamer. Dreamers are a type of deep sea anglerfish known only from the Atlantic Ocean. Anglerfish are classified by how they lure their prey. Female anglerfish have a piece of dorsal spine that protrudes above their mouth and is luminescent in order to attract prey. The females of the species Spiniphryne gladisfenae can grow to a length of 10.5 centimetres (4.1 in) SL. The esca contains two bulbous appendages on the tip, covered with tiny papillae and with clusters of tiny filaments around the base. There is also a large appendage on the back, divided at the end into three lobes or many filaments. The number of lateral escal filaments varies from none to three. S. gladisfenae also has fewer dental teeth than S. duhameli.
Phyllorhinichthys is a genus of dreamers. Like other oneirodids, they are small, bathypelagic fish with bioluminescent lures. Phyllorhinichthys is unique amongst the deep-sea anglerfish in having a pair of fleshy, leaf-like structures on its snout.
Phyllorhinichthys balushkini is a species of dreamer found in the Atlantic Ocean. The females of this species grow to a length of 14.5 centimetres (5.7 in) SL. The illicium is longer than that of P. micractis. The esca bears a single forward appendage containing a pair of internal light-guiding tubes that diverge from each other at the tip. The rear escal appendage is extremely long, measuring over half the length of the fish, covered with dark skin and ending in a pair of translucent bulbs. The snout flaps are relatively small.
Tyrannophryne pugnax, the tyrant devil is a species of deep-sea anglerfish in the dreamer family, Oneirodidae. It is the sole member of its genus. Like other oneirodids, T. pugnax is a bathypelagic fish with a bioluminescent lure. It is known only from two adolescent female specimens, one caught in 1928 near Tahiti-Rarotonga, and the other in 1956 northwest of Bikini Atoll.
The Wonderfish (Thaumatichthys) is a genus of deep-sea anglerfish in the family Thaumatichthyidae, with three known species. Its scientific name means "wonder-fish" in Greek; oceanographer Anton Bruun described these fishes as "altogether one of the oddest creatures in the teeming variety of the fish world." In contrast to other anglerfishes, the bioluminescent lure of Thaumatichthys is located inside its cavernous mouth. They are worldwide in distribution and are ambush predators living near the ocean floor.
The compleat anglerfish (Lasiognathus) is a genus of deep-sea anglerfish in the family Thaumatichthyidae, with six species known from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Its lure apparatus appears to consist of a fishing rod, a fishing line, bait, and hooks. It is also distinctive for an enormous upper jaw with premaxillaries that can be folded down to enclose the much shorter lower jaw.
The anglerfish are fish of the teleost order Lophiiformes. They are bony fish named for their characteristic mode of predation, in which a modified luminescent fin ray acts as a lure for other fish. The luminescence comes from symbiotic bacteria, which are thought to be acquired from seawater, that dwell in and around the sea.
The humpback anglerfish is a species of black seadevils in the family of Melanocetidae, which means "black whale" in Greek. The species is named after James Yate Johnson, the English naturalist who discovered the first specimen in Madeira in 1863. The common names include anglerfish, viperfish and fangtoothfish.
Borophryne apogon, the netdevil, or greedy seadevil, is a species of leftvent anglerfish known today from the waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean off the Central American coast. It is found at depths down to around 1,750 m (5,700 ft). This species grows to a length of 8.3 centimetres (3.3 in) TL. A fossil specimen of this species has been found in the Los Angeles Basin dating back to the Late Miocene, some eight million years ago.
Puck pinnata, the mischievous dreamer, is a species of anglerfish in the family Oneirodidae known only from the northwest Pacific Ocean. As with all other species in the family, it is a pelagic, deep-water fish that is a member of the abyssal ecosystem. It is the only known species in the genus Puck.
Lasiognathus dinema is a species of wolftrap angler found in the deep waters of the northern Gulf of Mexico. It is found at depths of around 3,280 to 4,900 feet.
Linophryne indica, or headlight angler, is a leftvent anglerfish in the family Linophrynidae, found in the bathyal zone of the Pacific Ocean at depths below 1,000 m (3,300 ft). The female is significantly larger than the mature male. A fossil specimen of this species has been found in the Los Angeles Basin dating back to the Late Miocene, some eight million years ago.
Chaenophryne longiceps, commonly known as the can-opener smoothdream, longhead dreamer or smooth-head dreamer, is a species of anglerfish in the family Oneirodidae (dreamers).
Oneirodes carlsbergi is a species of anglerfish in the family Oneirodidae (dreamers). It takes its name from the Carlsberg Foundation, which funds scientific research.
2. Pietsch, T. W. 1978. A new genus and species of deep-sea anglerfish from the eastern North Pacific Ocean, with a review of the allied genera Leptacanthichthys, Chirophryne, and Ctenochirichthys (family Oneirodidae). Nat. Hist. Mus. Los Angeles Co., Contrib. Sci., 297: 1–25.
3. Pietsch, T. W. 1973. A new genus and species of deep-sea anglerfish (Pisces: Oneirodidae) from the northern Pacific Ocean. Copeia, 1973(2): 193–199.
4. Pietsch, Theodore W. 2005. Oneirodidae. Dreamers. Version 5 November 2005 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Oneirodidae/22026 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/