Halieutopsis galatea

Halieutopsis galatea
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Lophiiformes
Family: Ogcocephalidae
Genus: Halieutopsis
Species:
H. galatea
Binomial name
Halieutopsis galatea
Bradbury, 1988

Halieutopsis galatea, the Galathea deepsea batfish, is a species of ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ogcocephalidae, the deep sea batfishes. This fish is found in the Indian Ocean.

Taxonomy

Halieutopsis galatea was first formally described in 1988 by the American ichthyologist Margaret G. Bradbury with its type locality given as off Kenya in the Indian Ocean at 4°00'S, 41°27'E from a depth of 1,551 m (5,089 ft).[2] The genus Halieutopsis is classified within the "Indo-Pacific clade" of the family Ogcocephalidae.[3] The family Ogcocephalidae is classified in the monotypic suborder Ogcocephaloidei within the order Lophiiformes, the anglerfishes in the 5th edition of Fishes of the World.[4]

Etymology

Halieutopsis galatea has the genus name Halieutopsis which suffixes opsis, meaning "looking like" to halieut which is derived from halieutaea, Greek for an "angler" or "fisherman". This name is a reference to this genus' resemblance to the genus Halieutaea. The specific name galatea is the name of a sea nymph but refers to the Danish research vessel Galathea, from which the type specimen was collected during the Danish Deep-Sea Expedition Round the World of 1950-1952.[5]

Description

Halieutopsis galatea has the head and body which is disk shaped and is highly flattened and rounded with a rostrum that just overhangs the mouth. The space between the eyes is relatively small. Tubercles cover the entire body including the surface of the lower body, there are smaller tubercles lying between the main tubercles while the main tubercles on the snout and caudal peduncle are simple. Only the middle third of each jaw has teeth. The upper lobe of the esca is a flap and has 2 small cirri on its tip and two pairs of flaps on each side.[6] The iilicia cavity is a deep north when viewed from the front. There is a well developed subopercular spine. The overall colour is pale greyish with a dusky network pattern on the upper body around the main tubercles.[7] This species has a maximum published standard length of 5.5 cm (2.2 in).[8]

Distribution and habitat

Halieutopsis galatea is found in the eastern Indian Ocean where it has been recorded from off Kenya, the Seychelles Bank and off Madagascar and in the western Indian Ocean in the Timor Sea where there are records from south of Ashmore and Cartier Islands.[7] Smaller specimens tend to be caught at much shallower depths, between 370 and 405 m (1,214 and 1,329 ft) than larger specimens which have been taken from 880 to 1,551 m (2,887 to 5,089 ft), this may be because the adults are found in deeper areas than the juveniles.[6]

References

  1. ^ Ho, H. (2020). "Halieutopsis galatea". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T140340097A140859617. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T140340097A140859617.en. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  2. ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Halieutopsis". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  3. ^ Valerie Derouen; William B. Ludt; Hsuan-Ching Ho; Prosanta Chakrabarty (2015). "Examining evolutionary relationships and shifts in depth preferences in batfishes (Lophiiformes: Ogcocephalidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 84: 27–33. Bibcode:2015MolPE..84...27D. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2014.12.011. PMID 25554525.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ Christopher Scharpf (14 November 2022). "Order LOPHIIFORMES (part 1): Families LOPHIIDAE, ANTENNARIIDAE, TETRABRACHIIDAE, LOPHICHTHYIDAE, BRACHIONICHTHYIDAE, CHAUNACIDAE and OGCOCEPHALIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  6. ^ a b Ho, Hsuan-Ching (2021). "Taxonomy and Distribution of the Deep-Sea Batfish Genus Halieutopsis (Teleostei: Ogcocephalidae), with Descriptions of Five New Species". Journal of Marine Science and Engineering. 10 (1): 34. doi:10.3390/jmse10010034.
  7. ^ a b Bray, D.J. (2022). "Halieutopsis galatea". Fishes of Australia. Museums Victoria. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  8. ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Halieutopsis galatea". FishBase. February 2024 version.