Thaumatichthyidae, the wolftrap anglers, is a small family of marine ray-finned fishes, also called the wolftrap seadevils, classified within the suborder Ceratioidei, the deep-sea anglerfishes. They have distinctive upper jaws with movable premaxillaries that can be lowered to form a cage-like trap around the much shorter lower jaw.
| Thaumatichthyidae | |
|---|---|
| |
| Thaumatichthys pagidostomus | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Lophiiformes |
| Suborder: | Ceratioidei |
| Family: | Thaumatichthyidae Smith & Radcliffe, 1912 |
| Genera | |
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see text | |
Taxonomy
editThaumathichthyidae was first proposed as a monotypic family in 1912 by the American ichthyologists Hugh McCormick Smith and Lewis Radcliffe,[1] with Thaumatichthys as its only genus.[2] The 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies this family in the suborder Ceratioidei of the anglerfish order Lophiiformes.[3] Within the Ceratioidei this family is a sister taxon to the Oneirodidae.[4]
Etymology
editThaumatichthyidae is derived from its type genus, Thaumatochthys. This name is a combination of "thauma", meaning "wonder" or "marvel", and ichthys, the Greek word for "fish". The name alludes to the strange shape of T. pagidostomus with its large head that is almost as long as the rest ofthe body, the esca and illicium being inside the mouth to lure the prey into the huge trap-like mouth.[5]
Genera
editThaumatichthydae has the following two genera classified within it:[6]
- Lasiognathus Regan, 1925
- Thaumatichthys Smith & Radcliffe, 1912
Characteristics
editThaumatichthyidae anglerfishes resemble their close relatives the dreamers of the family Oneirodidae. The main differences are that the lower jaw projects well beyond the upper jaw and the upper part of the operculum is bifurcated. In comparison to other Ceratioid anglerfishes the wolftrap anglerfishes do not have the front end of the jawbones join at the midline of the mouth, where there is a wide elastic membrane. They have very long, inwardly hooked premaxillary teeth. They also have tooth-like denticles on the esca. The pectoral fin has between 14 and 20 soft rays while the caudal fin has 9 soft rays, the 3 middle rays being forked. The maximum published standard length is 36.5 cm (14.4 in) for Thaumatichthys axeli, while the smallest is 7.7 cm (3.0 in) in the case of Lasiognathus saccostoma. Larvae have been recorded at 2.25 cm (0.89 in) while the largest free-living males are 3.6 cm (1.4 in).[7]
Distribution and habitat
editThaumatichthyidae anglerfishes are found at depths down to 4,000 m (13,000 ft) in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.[7]
References
edit- ^ Richard van der Laan; William N. Eschmeyer & Ronald Fricke (2014). "Family-group names of recent fishes". Zootaxa. 3882 (2): 1–230. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3882.1.1. PMID 25543675.
- ^ Hugh M. Smith and Lewis Radcliffe (1912). "Description of a new family of pediculate fishes from Celebes. [Scientific results of the Philippine cruise of the Fisheries steamer "Albatross," 1907-1910. No. 20.]". Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 42 (1917): 579–581.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Theodore W. Pietsch and James Wilder Orr (2007). "Phylogenetic Relationships of Deep-Sea Anglerfishes of the Suborder Ceratioidei (Teleostei: Lophiiformes) Based on Morphology". Copeia. 2007 (1): 1–34.
- ^ 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 26 July 2024.
- ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Thaumatichthyidae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
- ^ a b Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2006). "Thaumatichthyidae" in FishBase. April 2006 version.