Derichthyidae

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Supergroup: Opisthokonta
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Osteichthyes
Classis: Actinopterygii
Subclassis: Neopterygii
Infraclassis: Teleostei
Superordo: Elopomorpha
Ordo: Anguilliformes
Subordo: Congroidei
Familia: Derichthyidae
Genera: Derichthys - Nessorhamphus

References

* Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2006. FishBase, version (02/2006). [1]

Vernacular names
日本語: ヘラアナゴ科

Longneck eels or neck eels are a family, Derichthyidae, of eels. They are pelagic fishes, found in the middle and depths of most oceans. The name comes from Greek deres meaning "neck" and ichthys meaning "fish".

They are distinguished by the presence of a series stripes on the head that form part of the sensory system, but otherwise the two genera of the family are quite different in appearance. Derichthys has a narrow neck and large eyes, while Nessorhamphus' has a long, flattened, snout.[1] They grow to about 60 centimetres (24 in) in length.

Species

There are three species in two genera:[2]

* Genus Derichthys
o Narrownecked oceanic eel, Derichthys serpentinus Gill, 1884.
* Genus Nessorhamphus
o Nessorhamphus danae Schmidt, 1931.
o Duckbill oceanic eel, Nessorhamphus ingolfianus (Schmidt, 1912).

In some classifications (for example, Systema Naturae 2000) this family is split in two, with Derichthyidae containing only the genus Derichthys, and Nessorhamphus being assigned its own family, Nessorhamphidae.

References

1. ^ McClosker, John F. (1998). Paxton, J.R. & Eschmeyer, W.N.. ed. Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 89. ISBN 0-12-547665-5.
2. ^ Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2009). "Derichthyidae" in FishBase. January 2009 version.

* Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2006). "Derichthyidae" in FishBase. January 2006 version.