Ceratias uranoscopus, the stargazing seadevil, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ceratiidae, the warty sea devils. The fish is both bathypelagic and mesopelagic and can typically be found at depths ranging from 500 to 1,000 metres (1,600 to 3,300 ft). It is endemic to tropical waters and can be found in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.
| Ceratias uranoscopus | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Lophiiformes |
| Family: | Ceratiidae |
| Genus: | Ceratias |
| Species: | C. uranoscopus
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| Binomial name | |
| Ceratias uranoscopus Murray, 1877
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| Synonyms[2] | |
Taxonomy
editCeratias uranoscopus was first formally described in 1877 by the Scottish-Canadian oceanographer Sir John Murray with its type locality given as the Northeastern Atlantic Ocean, between Canary and Cape Verde islands at 22°18'N, 22°02'W from a depth between 0 and 4,392 m (0 and 14,409 ft).[3] The genus Ceratias is classified by the 5th edition of Fishes of the World as belonging to the family Ceratiidae in the suborder Ceratioidei of the anglerfish order Lophiiformes.[4]
Etymology
editCeratias uranoscopus belongs to the genus Ceratias, this name means "horn bearer", an allusion to the esca sticking up from the snout. The specific name uranoscopus means is a combination of urano, meaning "sky", with scopus, meaning "watcher", an allusion to the eyes being positioned high on the head.[5]
Description
editCeratias uranoscopus is sexually dimorphic, and the metamorphosed females can be distinguished from the metamorphosed females of other species in the genus Ceratias by the morphology of its esca, which is dark in colour, except for its unpigmented tip. The esca has no appendages and the illicium has a length equivalent to 14% to 28.8% of the fish's standard length. Vomerine teeth are always absent.[6] This species has a maximum published total length of 24 cm (9.4 in).[2]
Distribution and habitat
editCeratias uranoscopus is found in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, where it has been collected widely, but only two specimens have been collected in the Indian Ocean. It is a mesopelagic and bathypelagic species found at depths between 95 and 4,000 m (312 and 13,123 ft), although specimens are typically collected between 500 and 1,000 m (1,600 and 3,300 ft).[1]
References
edit- ^ a b Arnold, R. (2015). "Ceratias uranoscopus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T21112879A21910130. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T21112879A21910130.en. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
- ^ a b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Ceratias uranoscopus". FishBase. June 2024 version.
- ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Ceratias". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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 9 August 2024.
- ^ Theodore W. Pietsch (1986). "Systematics and Distribution of Bathypelagic Anglerfishes of the Family Ceratiidae (Order: Lophiiformes)". Copeia. 1986 (2): 479–493. doi:10.2307/1445006. JSTOR 1445006.