Stephanoberyciformes

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Stephanoberyciformes
Scopelogadus mizolepis mizolepis.png
Scopelogadus mizolepis mizolepis , a ridgehead
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Superorder: Acanthopterygii
Order: Stephanoberyciformes
Type species
Stephanoberyx monae
T. N. Gill, 1883
Families

Gibberichthyidae
Hispidoberycidae
Melamphaidae
Stephanoberycidae

Contents

The Stephanoberyciformes are an order of marine ray-finned fishes, consisting of about 68 species, the majority (61) of which belong to the ridgehead family (Melamphaidae). The Stephanoberyciformes are mostly uncommon deep-sea species with little, if any, importance to commercial fishery. They share many morphological similarities with the Beryciformes, their sister order.

Some sources [1] classify their other close relatives, the whalefishes, as a superfamily herein, named Cetomimoidea. Most taxa traditionally placed here would then be the Stephanoberyciodea.

The families are:

Common characteristics include; a generally rounded body, a toothless palate, rather thin skull bones, and a missing orbitosphenoid bone (except for Hispidoberyx ).

The gibberfishes on the other hand appear to be closer to whalefishes such as Rondeletia , as has been proposed time and again. These two groups have - apparently as only living fishes - the mysterious Tominaga's organ (A large mass of globular white tissue, that is present anterior to the orbit and posterior and medial to the nostrils and nasal rosette). Rondeletia, meanwhile, is suspected to be very close to the velvet whalefish, Barbourisia rufa. [2]

Footnotes

  1. E.g. Nelson (2006)
  2. Paxton et al. (2001)

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Lampriformes is an order of ray-finned fish. Members are collectively called lamprids or lampriforms, and unite such open-ocean and partially deep-sea Teleostei as the crestfishes, oarfish, opahs, and ribbonfishes. A synonym for this order is Allotriognathi, while an often-seen, but apparently incorrect, spelling variant is Lampridiformes. They contain seven extant families which are generally small but highly distinct, and a mere 12 lampriform genera with some 20 species altogether are recognized. They are the only extant members of the superorder Lamprimorpha, which was formerly diverse throughout much of the Late Cretaceous.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jellynose fish</span> Order of fishes

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neopterygii</span> Subclass of fishes

Neopterygii is a subclass of ray-finned fish (Actinopterygii). Neopterygii includes the Holostei and the Teleostei, of which the latter comprise the vast majority of extant fishes, and over half of all living vertebrate species. While living holosteans include only freshwater taxa, teleosts are diverse in both freshwater and marine environments. Many new species of teleosts are scientifically described each year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aulopiformes</span> Order of fishes

Aulopiformes is a diverse order of marine ray-finned fish consisting of some 15 extant and several prehistoric families with about 45 genera and over 230 species. The common names grinners, lizardfishes and allies, or aulopiforms are sometimes used for this group. The scientific name means "Aulopus-shaped", from Aulopus + the standard fish order suffix "-formes". It ultimately derives from Ancient Greek aulós + Latin forma, the former in reference to the elongated shape of many aulopiforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beryciformes</span> Order of fishes

The Beryciformes are a poorly-understood order of carnivorous ray-finned fishes consisting of 7 families, 30 genera, and 161 species. They feed on small fish and invertebrates. Beyond this, little is known about the biology of most member species because of their nocturnal habits and deepwater habitats. All beryciform species are marine and most live in tropical to temperate, deepwater environments. Most live on the continental shelf and continental slope, with some species being found as deep as 2,000 m (6,600 ft). Some species move closer to the surface at night, while others live entirely in shallow water and are nocturnal, hiding in rock crevices and caves during the day. Several species are mesopelagic and bathypelagic. Beryciformes' bodies are deep and mildly compressed, typically with large eyes that help them see in darker waters. Colors range from red to yellow and brown to black, and sizes range from 8–61 cm (3.1–24.0 in). Member genera include the alfonsinos, squirrelfishes, flashlight fishes, fangtooth fishes, spinyfins, pineconefishes, redfishes, roughies, and slimeheads. A number of member species are caught commercially, including the alfonsino, the splendid alfonsino, and the orange roughy, the latter being much more economically important. Some species have bioluminescent bacteria contained in pockets of skin or in light organs near the eyes, including the anomalopids and monocentrids.

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The marine hatchetfishes or deep-sea hatchetfishes as well as the related bottlelights, pearlsides and constellationfishes are small deep-sea ray-finned fish of the stomiiform family Sternoptychidae. They are not closely related to and should not be confused with the freshwater hatchetfishes, which are teleosts in the characiform family Gasteropelecidae. The Sternoptychidae have 10 genera and about 70 species altogether.

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

Ridgeheads, also known as bigscales, are a family of small, deep-sea stephanoberyciform fish. The family contains approximately 37 species in five genera; their distribution is worldwide, but ridgeheads are absent from the Arctic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Although the family is one of the most widespread and plentiful of deep-sea families, none of its members are of interest to commercial fishery.

The velvet whalefish is a deep-sea whalefish, the sole known member of its family Barbourisiidae. It is found throughout the tropical and temperate parts of the world's oceans, mainly in the Pacific near Japan and New Zealand, at depths of 300–2,000 m. This species seems very closely related to some flabby whalefish and it was initially believed to belong to that family by some. They have been found from 65°N–40°S in the Atlantic, 50°N–50°S in the Pacific, and 5–20°S in the Indian Ocean.

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The redmouth whalefishes are two species of deep-sea whalefishes in the genus Rondeletia, the only genus in the family Rondeletiidae. They are apparently close to the velvet whalefish, and apparently also to the gibberfishes (Gibberichthyidae). The latter and the Rondeletiidae are the only known living fishes which have the mysterious Tominaga's organ.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acanthopterygii</span> Superorder of bony fishes

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Protacanthopterygii is a superorder of ray-finned fish. They inhabit both marine and freshwater habitats. They appear to have evolved in the Cretaceous or perhaps late Jurassic, originating probably roughly 150 million years ago; fossils of them and the closely related Otocephala are known from throughout the Cretaceous.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diversity of fish</span> Fish species categorized by various characteristics

Fish are very diverse animals and can be categorised in many ways. Although most fish species have probably been discovered and described, about 250 new ones are still discovered every year. According to FishBase about 34,800 species of fish had been described as of February 2022, which is more than the combined total of all other vertebrate species: mammals, amphibians, reptiles and birds.

<i>Poromitra crassiceps</i> Species of fish

Poromitra crassiceps, commonly called the crested bigscale is a species of deep sea fish in the ridgehead family.

<i>Poromitra</i> Genus of fishes

Poromitra is a genus of ridgeheads. The 22 known species of Poromitra have been divided into five species groups according to variation in preopercle anatomy.

References