Oneirodidae

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Dreamers
Oneirodes macrosteus.JPG
Oneirodes macrosteus
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Lophiiformes
Suborder: Ceratioidei
Family: Oneirodidae
T. N. Gill, 1879
Genera

see text

Oneirodidae, the dreamers are a family of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Lophiiformes, the anglerfishes. These fishes are deepwater fishes found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans, and it is the most diverse family of fishes in the bathypelagic zone.

Contents

Taxonomy

Oneirodidae was first proposed as a family in 1879 by the American biologist Theodore Gill [1] with Oneirodes as its only genus. [2] Oneirodes had been proposed as a monospecific genus in 1871 by the Danish zoologist Christian Frederik Lütken when he described O. eschrichtii , giving its type locality as off the western coast of Greenland. [3] The 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies this family in the suborder Ceratioidei of the anglerfish order Lophiiformes. [4]

Genera

Oneirodidae has the following genera classified within it: [5] [6]

With over 60 species classified within this family, it is the most species diverse family of fishes in the bathypelagic zone. [7]

Etymology

Oneirodidae is derived from Oneirodes, its type genus, which means "dream-like". Lütken did not explain this choice of name, David Starr Jordan and Barton Warren Evermann suggested in 1898 that the name referred to the small, skin-covered eyes. Alternatively, in 2009 Theodore Wells Pietsch III proposed that the name was given because a "fish so strange and marvelous that it could only be imagined in the dark of the night during a state of unconsciousness". [8]

Characteristics

Oneirodidae are, like other anglerfishes, sexually dimorphic. The metamorphosed females are very variable in body shape and most have short, deep globe-like or slightly compressed bodies although some taxa have elongate, streamlined bodies. [9] These fishes typically have naked skin, although some taxa have short dermal spines. They have between 4 and 8 soft rays in the dorsal fin and between 4 and 7 soft rays in the anal fin. They also have forwardly directed, thin, flattened process that reaches over the sphenotic, a bone in the posterior part of the orbit. The jaws are of similar length with neither protruding beyond the other. [4] These fishes also have a bioluminescent bulb at the tip on the illicium, lack any fleshy growths along the centre of the back, do not have upward pointing mouths, there are teeth on the upper denticular bone,, the esca has no small tooth-like structures, they have large eyes and large olfactory organs with forward opening nostrils located at the end of the snout. The males, like those of other ceratioids, are considerably smaller than the metamorphosed females, do not have an esca or an illicium extending beyond the dermis, their eyes and olfactory organs are much larger than those of the females and they have pincer-like jaws armed with hooked denticular teeth, thought to be utilised in grabbing on to the female. They also have naked skin and the front end of the pterygophore is distant from the rear end of the denticular bone. [10] The males in this family are typically not sexual parasites of the females. [4] The largest females are up to 37 cm (15 in) in length contrasting with the longest males being 2.85 cm (1.12 in) in length. [9]

Distribution and habitat

Oneirodidae are found in all the world's oceans in the mesopelagic and bathypelagic zones at depths between 300 and 3,000 m (980 and 9,840 ft). [9]

Biology

Fish of this family are predatory, feeding on other fish and on crustaceans. They are oviparous with pelagic eggs and larvae. [9]

Related Research Articles

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<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.

Bertella is a monospecific genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Oneirodidae, the dreamers, a family of deep sea anglerfishes. The only species in the genus is Bertella idiomorpha and this can be distinguished from other members of the family by the structure of its hyomandibular bone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horned lantern fish</span> Species of fish

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<i>Tyrannophryne</i> Monotypic genus of fish

Tyrannophryne is a monospecific genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Oneirodidae, the dreamers, a family of deep-sea anglerfishes. The only species in the genus is Tyrannophryne pugnax, the tyrant devil. 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.

<i>Gigantactis</i> Genus of fishes

Gigantactis is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Gigantactinidae, the whipnose anglers. The fishes in this genus have a circumglobal distribution in the deep waters of the tropical and temperate zones of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.

<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.

<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.

<i>Linophryne</i> Genus of fishes

Linophryne, the bearded seadevils, is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Linophrynidae, the leftvents. These deep sea anglerfishes are found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.

<i>Chaenophryne</i> Genus of fishes

Chaenophryne 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. Like other deep-sea anglerfishes, they are sexually dimorphic, with the matamorphosed females dwarfing the metamorphosed males. The males are not sexual parasites.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plainchin dreamarm</span> Species of fish

The plainchin dreamarm is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Oneirodidae, the dreamers, a family of deep sea anglerfishes. It is the only species in the monospecific genus Leptacanthichthys. This species occurs in the North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans at depths down to 2,000 m (6,600 ft).

Microlophichthys microlophus, the short-rod anglerfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Oneirodidae, the dreamers, a family of deep sea anglerfishes. This anglerfish is found in the deeper waters of the tropical and temperate oceans around the world.

Microlophichthys is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Oneirodidae, the dreamers, a family of deep sea anglerfishes. The species in this genus are found in the tropical and subtropical parts of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.

<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>Pentherichthys</i> Monotypic genus of fish

Pentherichthys is a monospecific genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Oneirodidae, the dreamers, a family of deep-sea anglerfishes. The only species in the genus is Pentherichthys atratus which is found in the bathypelagic zones of the tropical and subtropical Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. The males of this species are dwarfed and are not parasitic on the females.

<i>Chaenophryne draco</i> Species of fish

Chaenophryne draco, the smooth dreamer, or smooth-headed dreamer, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Oneirodidae, the dreamers, a family of deep-sea anglerfishes. This predatory, deep-sea fish is found in the tropical and subtropical oceans around the world. Like other deep-sea anglerfishes, it is sexually dimorphic, with the matamorphosed females dwarfing the metamorphosed males. The males are not sexual parasites.

Oneirodes carlsbergi is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Oneirodidae, the dreamers, a family of deep-sea anglerfishes. This fish is found mainly in the tropical eastern 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.

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. ↑ Gill, Theodore (1878). "Synopsis of the pediculate fishes of the eastern coast of extratropical North America". Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 1 (30): 215–221. doi:10.5479/si.00963801.1-30.215.
  3. ↑ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Oneirodes". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 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.
  5. ↑ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Family Oneirodidae". FishBase . February 2024 version.
  6. ↑ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Oneirodidae". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  7. ↑ Nelson, J.S.; Grande, T.C.; Wilson, M.V.H. (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 312–313. doi:10.1002/9781119174844. ISBN   978-1-118-34233-6. LCCN   2015037522. OCLC   951899884. OL   25909650M.
  8. ↑ 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 3 July 2024.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Dianne J. Bray. "Dreamers, ONEIRODIDAE". Fishes of Australia. Museums Victoria . Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  10. ↑ E. Bertelsen and Theodore W. Pietsch (1983). "The Ceratioid Anglerfishes of Australia" (PDF). Records of the Australian Museum. 35 (2): 77–93. doi:10.3853/j.0067-1975.35.1983.303.
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