Gonostomatidae

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bristlemouths
Elongated bristlemouth, Gonostoma elongatum (top) and Bonapartia pedaliota (bottom)
Elongated bristlemouth, Gonostoma elongatum (top) and Bonapartia pedaliota (bottom)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Stomiiformes
Family: Gonostomatidae
Genera

Bonapartia
Cyclothone
Diplophos
Gonostoma
Manducus
Margrethia
Sigmops
Triplophos
See text for species.

Gonostomatidae is a family of deep-water marine fish, commonly named bristlemouths, lightfishes or anglemouths. It is a relatively small family, containing only eight known genera and 32 species. However, bristlemouths make up for their lack of diversity with numbers: Cyclothone, with 12 species, is thought to be (along with Vinciguerria), the most abundant vertebrate genus in the world.

The first fossil record of this family dates to the Miocene epoch - and was discovered by L. S. Berg in 1958. The fish may be found in the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean, though species Cyclothone microdon may be found in Arctic waters. They look oddly long in appearance and have photophores. These photophores are aligned along the bottom of the fish — or bottom of the head — emitting green or red light. Their chief common name — bristlemouth — is after their odd equally-sized bristle teeth. Due to the depth — very little light penetrates, resulting in almost pitch blackness — the fish is typically black to hide from prey.

[edit] Species

Some classifications include the genera Pollichthys and Vinciguerria, but this article follows FishBase in placing them in the family Phosichthyidae.

Some classifications include species in the genus Zaphotias, but these are junior synonyms of the species Bonapartia pedaliota.

  • Genus Bonapartia
    • Bonapartia pedaliota Goode & Bean, 1896.
  • Genus Cyclothone
    • Benttooth bristlemouth, Cyclothone acclinidens Garman, 1899.
    • Cyclothone alba Brauer, 1906.
    • Deep-water bristlemouth, Cyclothone atraria Gilbert, 1905.
    • Garrick, Cyclothone braueri Jespersen & Tåning, 1926.
    • Cyclothone kobayashii Miya, 1994.
    • Cyclothone livida Brauer, 1902.
    • Veiled anglemouth, Cyclothone microdon (Günther, 1878).
      Veiled anglemouth, Cyclothone microdon
      Veiled anglemouth, Cyclothone microdon
    • Cyclothone obscura Brauer, 1902.
    • Yellow bristlemouth, Cyclothone pacifica Mukhacheva, 1964.
    • Tan bristlemouth, Cyclothone pallida Brauer, 1902.
    • Cyclothone parapallida Badcock, 1982.
    • Slender bristlemouth, Cyclothone pseudopallida Mukhacheva, 1964.
    • Cyclothone pygmaea Jespersen & Tåning, 1926.
    • Showy bristlemouth, Cyclothone signata Garman, 1899.
  • Genus Diplophos
    • Diplophos australis Ozawa, Oda & Ida, 1990.
    • Diplophos orientalis Matsubara, 1940.
    • Diplophos pacificus (Mukhacheva, 1964).
    • Diplophos rebainsi Krefft & Parin, 1972.
    • Pacific portholefish, Diplophos taenia Günther, 1873.
      Pacific portholefish, Diplophos taenia
      Pacific portholefish, Diplophos taenia
  • Genus Gonostoma
    • Atlantic fangjaw, Gonostoma atlanticum Norman, 1930.
    • Gonostoma bathyphilum (Vaillant, 1884).
      Gonostoma bathyphilum
      Gonostoma bathyphilum
    • Gonostoma denudatum Rafinesque, 1810.
      Gonostoma denudatum
      Gonostoma denudatum
    • Elongated bristlemouth, Gonostoma elongatum Günther, 1878.
    • Gonostoma longipinnis Mukhacheva, 1972.
  • Genus Margrethia
  • Genus Manducus
    • Manducus greyae (Johnson, 1970).
    • Manducus maderensis (Johnson, 1890).
  • Genus Sigmops
    • Ebeling's fangjaw, Sigmops ebelingi (Grey, 1960).
    • Slender fangjaw, Sigmops gracilis (Günther, 1878).
  • Genus Triplophos
    • Triplophos hemingi (McArdle, 1901).

[edit] References