Toothed seadevil | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Lophiiformes |
Suborder: | Ceratioidei |
Family: | Neoceratidae Regan, 1926 |
Genus: | Neoceratias Pappenheim, 1914 |
Species: | N. spinifer |
Binomial name | |
Neoceratias spinifer Pappenheim, 1914 | |
The toothed seadevil, spiny seadevil or netbeard seadevil, (Neoceratias spinifer), 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 (the "fishing rod" and "lure"), and in having large teeth placed on the outside of its jaws. [2] [3]
The toothed seadevil was first formally described in 1914 by the German zoologist Paul Pappenheim with the type locality given as the South Atlantic around 416 km (258 mi) north of Saint Helena at 12°11'S, 6°16'W from a depth between 0 and 2,000 m (0 and 6,562 ft). [4] When Pappenheim described this species he classified it in the new monospecific genus Neoceratias. [5] In 1926 Charles Tate Regan created the monotypic family Neoceratiidae for this taxon. [6] The 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies the family Neoceratiidae in the suborder Ceratioidei of the anglerfish order Lophiiformes. [7]
The toothed seadevil has the genus name Neoceratias, which prefixes Ceratias , a genus of anglerfishes, with neo, meaning "new". Pappenheim was not sure what the systematic position of the new species was but he thought that it might be close to Ceratias. The specific name spinifer means "spine bearing", this is an allusion to the long needle-like teeth with hinges located on the jaws external to the mouth. [8]
Toothed seadevils are sexually dimorphic. The adult females have slender, elongate bodies up to 11 centimetres (4.3 in) long. They are dark red-brown to black in color, with naked skin. The mouth is large and extends well past the small eye; the jaws have an inner row of short, straight, widely spaced, immobile teeth. On the outside of the jaws, there are prominent conical outgrowths that bear 2-3 straight teeth, the longest of which reach almost 15% the length of the entire body. Each of these teeth is hinged at the base, with well-developed musculature and a tiny hook at the end. The illicium, or lure, is absent, along with the trough in which it rests in other deep-sea anglerfishes. There are a pair of prominent nasal papillae on the snout; nostrils and olfactory lamellae are absent. [3]
Both the males and larvae differ from other deep-sea anglerfish in having slender bodies. Mature males are only known from parasitic specimens already attached to the females. The largest known specimen is 18 mm long. They are lighter in color than the females and have semitranslucent skin. They are attached to the females by outgrowths of the snout and lower jaw; the olfactory organs are absent and the eyes are degenerate and covered with skin. The larvae are 4–10 mm long, with well-developed olfactory organs and no sexual dimorphism. [3]
The toothed seadevil is found throughout the World. In the Atlantic Ocean it is distributed from off New England south and east to Saint Helena. In the Indian Ocean it has been recorded off far northern Madagascar and in the Bay of Bengal. In the Pacific Ocean it has a wide range extending from the Philippines as far east as Hawaii with a record from as far east as 32°N, 133°E. This species is a deep water fish that has not been collected from depths of less than 1,000 m (3,300 ft). [9]
The toothed seadevil has no bioluminescent lure and an unusual tooth arrangement, it is unclear what the toothed seadevil feeds upon and how. It has been suggested that their external jaw teeth serve to entangle soft-bodied invertebrates. The males are fully parasitic, using tooth-bearing denticles at the tips of their jaws to attach to the female and their tissues and blood vessels becoming fused with that of the female. [10]
The footballfish form a family, Himantolophidae, of globose, deep-sea anglerfishes found in tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Ocean. The family contains 23 species, all of which are classified in a single genus, Himantolophus.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
Bufoceratias is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Diceratiidae, the double anglers. Thee fishes in this genus are found i the Indian, Pacific and Western Atlantic Oceans.
Himantolophus groenlandicus, the Atlantic footballfish or Atlantic football-fish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Himantolophidae, the footballfishes. This fish is found primarily in mesopelagic depths of the ocean. Despite its name, this species might not be restricted to the Atlantic Ocean, with its range possibly extending into the Indian Ocean and to the Pacific Ocean. It is found in tropical and temperate regions.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Diceratias bispinosus, the two-rod angler, is a species of deep sea marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Diceratiidae, the double anglers. This species is found in the Indo-Pacific region.
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.