Whip angler
| Whip angler | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the family | ||||||||||||
| Himantolophidae | ||||||||||||
| Gill , 1861 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Himantolophus | ||||||||||||
| Reinhardt , 1837 |
The whip anglers ( Himantolophus ) are a genus of deep-sea frogfish (Ceratioidei). There are 20 species that grow to be 4 to 46 inches long. They live in the Atlantic , Pacific and Indian Oceans .
features
Whip anglers have an extreme gender dimorphism . The females are plump, have a round body, and are up to 46 centimeters long. Their flesh is gelatinous. The strikingly blunt mouth distinguishes them from other deep-sea frogfish . On top of the head there is a "Angel" (Illicium) with a light organ at the end . The skin of this fish is sporadically covered with large, star-shaped scales. The round shape of the fish is reminiscent of a ball, hence the English name Footballfish. Females live lazily at depths below 1,000 meters and lie in wait for prey , such as lantern fish , ridgehead , shrimp or small cuttlefish .
The males are slender, spindle-shaped and do not become four inches long. After the metamorphosis from the fish larva into the adult animal, the male begins to find a female with the help of his eyes and his well-developed sense of smell. In contrast to many related genera, males permanently attached to the female or even fused together are not known in Himantolophus .
Both sexes are reddish brown or black in color. The fins do not have hard rays.
The genus is common in all oceans. Males and larvae have been north and south in a band between 40 degrees latitude proven adult females also far north.
- Fins formula : dorsal 5–6, anal 4, caudal 9, pectoral 14–18
species
- Himantolophus albinares Maul, 1961
- Himantolophus appelii (Clarke, 1878)
- Himantolophus azurlucens Beebe & Crane, 1947
- Himantolophus borealis Kharin, 1984
- Himantolophus brevirostris (Regan, 1925)
- Himantolophus compressus (Osório, 1912)
- Himantolophus cornifer Bertelsen & Krefft, 1988
- Himantolophus crinitus Bertelsen & Krefft, 1988
- Himantolophus danae Regan & Trewavas, 1932
- Himantolophus groenlandicus Reinhardt, 1837
- Himantolophus macroceras Bertelsen & Krefft, 1988
- Himantolophus macroceratoides Bertelsen & Krefft, 1988
- Himantolophus mauli Bertelsen & Krefft, 1988
- Himantolophus melanolophus Bertelsen & Krefft, 1988
- Himantolophus multifurcatus Bertelsen & Krefft, 1988
- Himantolophus nigricornis Bertelsen & Krefft, 1988
- Himantolophus paucifilosus Bertelsen & Krefft, 1988
- Himantolophus pseudalbinares Bertelsen & Krefft, 1988
- Himantolophus sagamius (Tanaka, 1918)
- Himantolophus stewarti Pietsch & Kenaley, 2011
With the exception of the species Himantolophus appelii , all species have only been described in terms of specimens in the male or female gender, so the assignment of the sexes to one another is unknown for most species. Thus, as knowledge increases, it can be expected that a number of nominal species will prove to be synonyms.
literature
- Joseph S. Nelson: Fishes of the World . John Wiley & Sons, 2006, ISBN 0-471-25031-7
