Linophryne prefixes linos, which means "net", an allusion Collett did not explain when he proposed the genus, with phryne, meaning "toad". The prefix may be a reference to the sac like mouth hanging off the trunk, which in the holotype contained a lanternfish, like a fisherman's keep net. The second part phryne is commonly used in the names of anglerfish genera. Its use may date as far back as Aristotle and Cicero, who referred to anglerfishes as "fishing-frogs" and "sea-frogs," respectively, possibly because of their resemblance to frogs and toads.[6]
Species
Linophryne contains 22 recognised species, these are divided into 3 subgenera:[7]
Linophryne leftvents are sexually dimorphic and the metamorphosed females can be distinguished from the other leftvent genera by a number of characters. These include the possession of a hyoid barbel, well-developed spines on the sphenotic bone and the preoperculum and a single nearly oval bulb on the esca with a short projection in its middle and has no appendages as well as a low number of fin rays in the dorsal and anal fins.[8] The largest species in the genus is L. lucifer which has a maximum published standard length of 27.5 cm (10.8 in).[7]
Distribution and habitat
Linophryne is found circumglobally in all three Oceans[7] from as far north as Iceland and Greenland in the Atlantic Ocean[9] they are found at depths between 0 and 2,200 m (0 and 7,218 ft).[10][11]
^CARNEVALE & PIETSCH "THE DEEP-SEA ANGLERFISH GENUS ACENTROPHRYNE (TELEOSTEI, CERATIOIDEI, LINOPHRYNIDAE) IN THE MIOCENE OF CALIFORNIA" Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 29(2):372–378, June 2009 [1]Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
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