Viviparous brotula

Last updated

Viviparous brotulas
Hephthocara simum.jpg
Hephthocara simum
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Ophidiiformes
Family: Bythitidae
T. N. Gill, 1861
Subfamilies

See text

The viviparous brotulas form a family, the Bythitidae, of ophidiiform fishes. They are known as viviparous brotulas as they generally bear live young, [1] although there are indications that some species (at least Didymothallus criniceps ) do not. [2] They are generally infrequently seen, somewhat tadpole-like in overall shape and mostly about 5–10 cm (2–4 in) in length, [1] but some species grow far larger and may surpass 60 cm (2 ft). [3] [4]

Although many live near the coast in tropical or subtropical oceans, [1] there are also species in deep water and cold oceans, for example Bythites . [5] Thermichthys hollisi , which lives at depths of around 2,500 m (8,200 ft), is associated with thermal vents. [6] A few are fresh or brackish water cavefish: the Mexican blind brotula (Typhliasina pearsei), Galapagos cuskeel (Ogilbia galapagosensis), Diancistrus typhlops and some Lucifuga species. [2] [7]

Since 2002, more than 110 new species have been added to this family. [8] In 2005, 26 new species were described in a single paper by Danish and German scientists [9] and in 2007, an additional eight new genera with 20 new species were described in another paper by the same scientists. [10]

In some classifications the family Aphyonidae is placed within the Bythitidae and the tribe Dinematichthyini of the subfamily Brosmophycinae has been raised to the status of a family, the Dinematichthyidae which contains 25 genera and 114 species. [11]

The Bythitidae is divided as follows:

Related Research Articles

Ogilbia suarezae is a species of fish of the genus Ogilbia found in the shallows of the Caribbean Sea. It is yellowish in color and is livebearing.

<i>Lucifuga</i> Genus of fishes

Lucifuga is a genus of viviparous brotulas. Most of the species are native to caves and sinkholes in Cuba and the Bahamas; L. inopinata from deep water off the Galápagos Islands is the only exception. The four species rated by the IUCN are all considered vulnerable. The largest species in the genus reaches about 15 cm (5.9 in) in length.

<i>Ogilbia</i> Genus of fishes

Ogilbia is a genus of viviparous brotulas. The generic name honours the Australian naturalist James Douglas Ogilby (1853-1925), for his contribution to the knowledge of the fishes of Australia.

Parasaccogaster melanomycter is a species of viviparous brotula endemic to Colombia.

<i>Saccogaster</i> Genus of fishes

Saccogaster is a genus of viviparous brotulas. They are found in the western Atlantic and Indo-Pacific.

Beaglichthys is a genus of viviparous brotulas.

<i>Bidenichthys</i> Genus of fishes

Bidenichthys is a genus of viviparous brotulas.

Diancistrus is a genus of viviparous brotulas.

Didymothallus is a genus of viviparous brotulas found in the Indian and western Pacific Oceans.

Majungaichthys is a genus of viviparous brotulas native to the western Indian Ocean. The generic name refers to Majunga in Madagascar where the type was collected.

Mascarenichthys is a genus of viviparous brotulas. They have mostly been collected from the region of Mascarene Plateau in the Indian Ocean and this is referred to in their generic name.

Microbrotula is a genus of viviparous brotulas.

Ogilbichthys is a genus of viviparous brotulas found in the central-western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. The generic name refers to the resemblance of these fish to those in the genus Ogilbia, a name honours the Australian naturalist James Douglas Ogilby (1853-1925), combined with ichthys which means "fish" in Greek.

Thermichthys hollisi is a species of viviparous brotula found in the Galapagos Rift Zone at depths of 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) around thermal vents. This species is the only known member of its genus. The specific name honours the submersible pilot Raplph Hollis who captured specimens of this fish.

Parasaccogaster is a genus of viviparous brotulas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dinematichthyini</span> Tribe of fishes

Dinematichthyini is a tribe of viviparous brotulas, which is conventionally placed within the subfamily Brosmophycinae. They are differentiated from the other tribe within that subfamily, the Brosmophycinae, by having a single pair of ossified genital claspers, having an absence or greatly reduced scales on the head and having the posterior end of the maxillary bone showing a small amount of vertical expansion. A review of the viviparous brotulas carried out in 2016 elevated the tribe to a family, the Dinematichthyidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brosmophycinae</span> Subfamily of fishes

Brosmophycinae is a subfamily of the viviparous brotulas. They are divided from the subfamily Bythitinae by having the dorsal fin, caudal fin and anal fin all separate whereas they are joined in the Bythitinae. It is divided into the tribes Dinematichthyini and Brosmophycini, with the first having hardened genital claspers and the second soft genital claspers. A review in 2016 elevated the Dinematichthyini to the status of a family the Dinematichthyidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bythitinae</span> Subfamily of fishes

Bythitinae is a subfamily of viviparous brotulas, one of the two subfamilies in the family Bythitidae. This subfamily is characterised by having the dorsal, caudal and anal fins combined. They are mostly found in temperate to tropical seas, from reefs to the benthopelagic zone, but some species from the North Atlantic Ocean occur in into Arctic waters.

Didymothallus criniceps is a fish species described by Werner W. Schwarzhans and Peter R. Møller in 2007. Didymothallus criniceps is part of the genus Didymothallus and the family Bythitidae. No subspecies are listed in the Catalog of Life.

Dinematichthyidae is a family of fishes belonging to the order Ophidiiformes.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Nielsen, Jørgen G. (1998). Paxton, J.R.; Eschmeyer, W.N. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 134. ISBN   0-12-547665-5.
  2. 1 2 Nielsen; Schwarzhans; and Hadiaty (2009). A blind, new species of Diancistrus (Teleostei, Bythitidae) from three caves on Muna Island, southeast of Sulawesi, Indonesia. Cybium 33(3): 241-245.
  3. ↑ Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2017). Species of Cataetyx in FishBase . April 2017 version.
  4. ↑ Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2017). Species of Grammonus in FishBase . April 2017 version.
  5. ↑ Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2017). Species of Bythites in FishBase . April 2017 version.
  6. ↑ Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2017). Thermichthys hollisi in FishBase . April 2017 version.
  7. ↑ Romero, A., editor (2001). The Biology of Hypogean Fishes. Developments in Environmental Biology of Fishes. ISBN   978-1402000768
  8. ↑ "CAS - Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes - Genera/Species by Family/Subfamily".
  9. ↑ Schwarzhans, Werner; Møller, Peter Rask; Nielsen, Jørgen G. (2005). "Review of the Dinematichthyini (Teleostei: Bythitidae) of the Indo-West Pacific. Part I. Diancistrus and Two New Genera with 26 New Species". The Beagle, Records of the Museum and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory. 21: 73–163.
  10. ↑ Schwarzhans & Møller (2007). "Review of the Dinematichthyini (Teleostei, Bythitidae) of the Indo-West pacific. Part III. Beaglichthys, Brosmolus, Monothrix and 8 new genera with description of 20 new species". The Beagle, Records of the Museum and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory. 23: 29–110.
  11. ↑ Møller PR; Knudsen SW; Schwarzhans W; Nielsen JG (2016). "A new classification of viviparous brotulas (Bythitidae) - with family status for Dinematichthyidae - based on molecular, morphological and fossil data". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 100: 391–408. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2016.04.008. PMID   27060424. Abstract
  12. ↑ Nielsen J.G., Schwarzhans W., Cohen D.M. (2012). "Revision of Hastatobythites and Saccogaster (Teleostei, Bythitidae) with three new species and a new genus". Zootaxa. 3579: 1–36. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3579.1.1.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.