"And it's modified up near the front of their head, and then the tip is this little ball and inside of this is bacteria that produces bioluminescence, that glows," Frable said in a video. Frable said anglerfish get their name for their modified fin spin. He has since X-rayed the fish and collected tissue samples for genetic analysis, and it will be preserved for the institute's scientific archive. Himantolophus sagamius S.The fish was recovered by Ben Frable, the institute's collection manager of Marine Vertebrates.Himantolophus pseudalbinares Bertelsen & G.Himantolophus paucifilosus Bertelsen & G.Himantolophus nigricornis Bertelsen & G.Himantolophus multifurcatus Bertelsen & G.Himantolophus melanolophus Bertelsen & G.Himantolophus macroceratoides Bertelsen & G.Himantolophus macroceras Bertelsen & G.Himantolophus groenlandicus Johan Reinhardt Robert Football, 1837 (Atlantic footballfish).Himantolophus danae Regan & Trewavas, 1932.Himantolophus azurlucens Beebe & Crane, 1947.There are currently 22 recognized species in this genus: Predators of footballfish include sperm whales and other footballfish. Their larvae are epipelagic (occurring in the well-lit 200 m of the water column), indicating they probably undergo an ontogenetic descent into deeper waters as the larvae mature. The male thus becomes inseparable from the female, deriving nourishment directly from her blood.įootballfish are presumed to be non-guarders that spawn pelagically. The metamorphosed males attach themselves to the body of the female using their denticular hooks the male's tissues then begin to coalesce with the female's, and the former's gonads begin to develop while all other organs degenerate. The parasitic males use their enlarged olfactory bulbs (as indicated by their enlarged nostrils) and sensitive eyes to home in on the pheromones and possibly the species-specific lures of females. Upon maturity, the tiny males of most species metamorphose into a parasitic form, which lacks both a lure and true teeth and is presumed not to feed. Females are carnivorous and feed upon other pelagic fish (such as lanternfishes and ridgeheads) and cephalopods, as well as shrimp and euphausiids that are presumably attracted to within striking distance by the footballfish's luminous lure. They are primarily mesopelagic, living in open water, with very few caught below 1,000 metres (3,300 feet 550 fathoms). Their poor musculature and cumbersome morphology indicate that mature female footballfish are probably poor swimmers and largely sedentary, lie-in-wait predators. The footballfish was first discovered in 1837 by Johan Reinhardt. There are six branchiostegal rays and 19 vertebrae the parietal is lacking throughout life, there are no epurals, and the pelvic bone is triradiate. In both sexes, the fins are spineless: the single dorsal fin with 5–6 soft rays, the pectoral fins with 14–18, the anal fin with four, and the caudal fin with 19. The jaw lacks teeth, whereas those of the denticular bone have fused into a larger mass the upper denticular bone possesses 10–17 hooked denticles. The pterygiophore of the illicium does not protrude from the snout, and there is no hyoid barbel.Īt maturity, the streamlined males have an enlarged posterior nostril (with 10–17 lamellae) slightly ovoid eye with an enlarged pupil creating a narrow anterior aphakic space no ilicium or esca and the head and body is covered in dermal spinules, those along the snout midline being enlarged. Escal morphology varies between species, and it may or may not possess denticles or accessory appendages, the latter either branched or unbranched. Originating above or slightly in advance of the small eye is an illicium (the "fishing rod") and at its end a bioluminescent, bulbous esca (the "fishing lure", its light owing to symbiotic bacteria). Footballfish females differ from those of other ceratioid families by their shortened, blunt snout along with the chin, it is covered in sensory papillae. The subequal jaws are anteriorly lined with rows of numerous close-set, depressible, and retrorse teeth vomerine teeth are absent. In females, the mouth is large and oblique.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |