Gigantactis vanhoeffeni is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Gigantactinidae, the whipnose anglers. This species has a circumglobal distribution in the deeper waters of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.
| Gigantactis vanhoeffeni | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Lophiiformes |
| Family: | Gigantactinidae |
| Genus: | Gigantactis |
| Species: | G. vanhoeffeni
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| Binomial name | |
| Gigantactis vanhoeffeni Brauer, 1902
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| Synonyms[2] | |
Taxonomy
editGigantactis vanhoeffeni was first formally described in 1902 by the German zoologist August Brauer with its type locality given as east of Zanzibar at 5°42'S, 43°36'E in the western Indian Ocean.[3] When he described G. vanhoeffeni Brauer proposed a new monospecific genus, Gigantactis, meaning that this species is the type species of that genus by monotypy.[4] This genus is classified by the 5th edition of Fishes of the World within the family Gigantactinidae, a family within the suborder Ceratioidei, the deep sea anglerfishes of the order Lophiiformes, the anglerfishes.[5]
Etymology
editGigantactis vanhoeffeni is a member of the genus Giganactis, the name of which is a combination of gigantos, meaning "giant", with actis, which means "ray", an allusion to its unusually long illicium. The specific name honours Ernst Vanhöffen, a German zoologist who studied jellyfish on the Valdivia Expedition.[6]
Description
editGigantactis vanhoeffeni has metamorphosed females which are distinguished from other species in the genus by the length of the illicium. The illicium is relatively short with a length equivalent to less than 120% of the standard length of the fish, even shorter in larger individuals. The bulb of the esca has an elongated tip. This elongated tip has a covering of spinules and is darkly pigmented. The bulb and the elongated tip has flattened papillae on their surface. The tip of the escal has short filaments near its tip and thin filaments near its base. The illicium has a pair of filaments near the esca on its rear surface. The long teeth on the dentary are arranged in 3 rows.[7] This species has amaximum published total length of 62 cm (24 in).[2]
Distribution and habitat
editGigantactis vanhoeffeni is found in the tropical and temperate parts of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans where it lives at depths between 500 and 5,300 m (1,600 and 17,400 ft). It has reached as far north as Greenland.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b Knudsen, S. (2015). "Gigantactis vanhoeffeni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T60470687A60788211. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T60470687A60788211.en. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
- ^ a b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Gigantactis vanhoeffeni". FishBase. June 2024 version.
- ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Gigantactis". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
- ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Gigantactinidae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 17 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 17 August 2024.
- ^ E. Bertelsen; Theodore W. Pietsch; and Robert J. Lavenberg (1981). "Ceratioid anglerfishes of the family Gigantactinidae: morphology, systematics, and distribution". Contributions in Science (Los Angeles). 332: 1–74.