Ogcocephalidae

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Batfishes
Longnose seabat, Malthopsis lutea
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Lophiiformes Family: Ogcocephalidae
Genera
Coelophrys Dibranchus Halicmetus Halieutaea Halieutichthys Halieutopsis Malthopsis Ogcocephalus Solocisquama Zalieutes See text for species.

Batfishes are a family, Ogcocephalidae, of anglerfishes. They are found in deep, lightless waters of the Atlantic, Indian and western Pacific Oceans.^[1]

They are laterally compressed fishes similar in appearance to rays, with a large circular, triangular, or box-shaped (in Coelophrys) head and a small tail. The illicium (a modified dorsal fin ray on the front of the head, that supports the esca, a bulbous lure) can be retracted into an illicial cavity above the mouth. The esca is not luminous as in most other groups of anglerfishes, but secretes a fluid that is hypothesized to act as a chemical lure, attracting prey.^[2]

They are bottom-dwelling fishes, mostly found on the continental slope at depths up to 4,000 m. Some New World genera live in coastal waters and river estuaries.

[edit] Species

There are 65 species in ten genera:

• Genus Coelophrys
  • Coelophrys arca Smith & Radcliffe, 1912.
  • Coelophrys bradburyae Endo & Shinohara, 1999.
  • Coelophrys brevicaudata Brauer, 1902.
  • Coelophrys brevipes Smith & Radcliffe, 1912.
  • Coelophrys mollis Smith & Radcliffe, 1912.
  • Coelophrys oblonga Smith & Radcliffe, 1912.
• Genus Dibranchus
  • Dibranchus accinctus Bradbury, 1999.
  • Atlantic batfish, Dibranchus atlanticus Peters, 1876.
    

    

    Atlantic batfish, Dibranchus atlanticus
  • Dibranchus cracens Bradbury, McCosker & Long, 1999.
  • Dibranchus discors Bradbury, McCosker & Long, 1999.
  • Dibranchus erinaceus (Garman, 1899).
  • Dibranchus hystrix Garman, 1899.
  • Dibranchus japonicus Amaoka & Toyoshima, 1981.
  • Dibranchus nasutus (Cuvier, 1829).
  • Dibranchus nudivomer (Garman, 1899).
  • Dibranchus sparsus (Garman, 1899).
  • Dibranchus spinosus (Garman, 1899).
  • Dibranchus spongiosa (Gilbert, 1890).
  • Dibranchus tremendus Bradbury, 1999.
  • Dibranchus velutinus Bradbury, 1999.
• Genus Halicmetus
  • Halicmetus reticulatus Smith & Radcliffe, 1912.
  • Halicmetus ruber Alcock, 1891.
• Genus Halieutaea
  • Spiny sea bat, Halieutaea brevicauda Ogilby, 1910.
  • Halieutaea coccinea Alcock, 1889.
    

    

    Halieutaea coccinea
  • Circular seabat, Halieutaea fitzsimonsi (Gilchrist & Thompson, 1916).
  • Halieutaea fumosa Alcock, 1894.
  • Hairy seabat, Halieutaea hancocki Regan, 1908.
  • Indian handfish, Halieutaea indica Annandale & Jenkins, 1910.
  • Halieutaea nigra Alcock, 1891.
  • Halieutaea retifera Gilbert, 1905.
  • Starry handfish, Halieutaea stellata (Swainson, 1839).
    

    

    Starry handfish, Halieutaea stellata
• Genus Halieutichthys
  • Pancake batfish, Halieutichthys aculeatus (Mitchill, 1818).
    

    

    Pancake batfish, Halieutichthys aculeatus
• Genus Halieutopsis
  • Halieutopsis andriashevi Bradbury, 1988.
  • Halieutopsis bathyoreos Bradbury, 1988.
  • Halieutopsis galatea Bradbury, 1988.
  • Halieutopsis ingerorum Bradbury, 1988.
  • Halieutopsis micropa (Alcock, 1891).
  • Halieutopsis simula (Smith & Radcliffe, 1912).
  • Halieutopsis stellifera (Smith & Radcliffe, 1912).
  • Halieutopsis tumifrons Garman, 1899.
  • Halieutopsis vermicularis Smith & Radcliffe, 1912.
• Genus Malthopsis
  • Malthopsis annulifera Tanaka, 1908.
  • Malthopsis gnoma Bradbury, 1998.
  • Malthopsis jordani Gilbert, 1905.
  • Longnose seabat, Malthopsis lutea Alcock, 1891.
  • Malthopsis mitrigera Gilbert & Cramer, 1897.
  • Spearnose seabat, Malthopsis tiarella Jordan, 1902.
• Genus Ogcocephalus
  • Longnose batfish, Ogcocephalus corniger Bradbury, 1980.
  • Ogcocephalus cubifrons (Richardson, 1836).
  • Galápagos batfish, Ogcocephalus darwini Hubbs, 1958.
  • Slantbrow batfish, Ogcocephalus declivirostris Bradbury, 1980.
  • Shortnose batfish, Ogcocephalus nasutus (Cuvier, 1829).
  • Ogcocephalus notatus (Valenciennes, 1837).
  • Spotted batfish, Ogcocephalus pantostictus Bradbury, 1980.

• • Roughback batfish, Ogcocephalus parvus Longley & Hildebrand, 1940.
  • Ogcocephalus porrectus Garman, 1899.
  • Ogcocephalus pumilus Bradbury, 1980.
  • Polka-dot batfish, Ogcocephalus radiatus (Mitchill, 1818).
  • Palefin batfish, Ogcocephalus rostellum Bradbury, 1980.
  • Brazilian batfish, Ogcocephalus vespertilio (Linnaeus, 1758).
• Genus Solocisquama
  • Solocisquama carinata Bradbury, 1999.
  • Solocisquama erythrina (Gilbert, 1905).
  • Solocisquama stellulata (Gilbert, 1905).
• Genus Zalieutes
  • Roundel batfish, Zalieutes elater (Jordan & Gilbert, 1882).
  • Tricorn batfish, Zalieutes mcgintyi (Fowler, 1952).

[edit] References

1. ^ "Ogcocephalidae". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. February 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.
2. ^ Theodore W. Pietsch (2005). Ogcocephalidae. Tree of Life web project. Retrieved on 4 April 2006.