Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Superclassis/Classis: Actinopterygii
Classis/Subclassis: Actinopteri
Subclassis/Infraclassis: Neopterygii
Infraclassis: Teleostei
Megacohors: Osteoglossocephalai
Supercohors: Clupeocephala
Cohors: Euteleosteomorpha
Subcohors: Neoteleostei
Infracohors: Eurypterygia
Sectio: Ctenosquamata
Subsectio: Acanthomorphata
Divisio/Superordo: Acanthopterygii
Subdivisio: Percomorphaceae
Series: Eupercaria
Ordo: Lophiiformes
Subordo: Ogcocephalioidei
Superfamilia: Ceratioidea
Familia: Himantolophidae
Genus: Himantolophus
References
Nelson, J.S. 2006. Fishes of the World, fourth edition. John Wiley, Hoboken, 624 pp. ISBN 0-471-25031-7. ISBN 978-0-471-25031-9. Reference page.
Links
Himantolophidae – Taxon details on Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).
Vernacular names
magyar: Korbácsoshalfélék
日本語: チョウチンアンコウ科
polski: maszkarowate
The footballfish form a family, Himantolophidae, of globose, deep-sea anglerfishes found in tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Ocean. The family contains 23 species, all of which are classified in a single genus, Himantolophus.
Taxonomy
The footballfish genus, Himantolophus was first proposed as a monospecific genus in 1837 by the Norwegian zoologist Johan Reinhardt when he described Himantolophus groenlandicus.[1] Reinhardt gave the type locality of H. groenlandicus as being near Godthaab in Greenland where it had been washed ashore.[2] In 1861 Theodore Gill placed Himantolophus in the new monotypic family Himantolophidae.[3] The 5th edition of The 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies this family in the suborder Ceratioidei of the anglerfish order Lophiiformes.[4]
Etymology
The football fish family and genus names are derived from a combination of himantos, which means a "leather strap", "thong" or "leash", with lophus, meaning "crest" or "tuft". Reinhardt did not explain this name but it is thought to refer to the thick, leathery illicium of the type species, H. groenlandicus.[5]
Species and species groups
There are currently 23 recognized species in this genus[6][2] and these are divided into species groups as set out below.[7]
groenlandicus group
Himantolophus crinitus Bertelsen & G. Krefft, 1988
Himantolophus danae Regan & Trewavas, 1932
Himantolophus groenlandicus Reinhardt, 1837 (Atlantic footballfish)
Himantolophus paucifilosus Bertelsen & G. Krefft, 1988
Himantolophus sagamius S. Tanaka (I), 1918 (Pacific footballfish)
appelii group
Himantolophus appelii F. E. Clarke, 1878 (Prickly anglerfish)
Himantolophus stewarti Pietsch & Kenaley, 2011[8]
nigricornis group
Himantolophus melanolophus Bertelsen & G. Krefft, 1988
Himantolophus nigricornis Bertelsen & G. Krefft, 1988
albinares group
Himantolophus albinares Maul, 1961
Himantolophus borealis Kharin, 1984
Himantolophus kalami Rajeeshjumar, Pietsch & Saravanane, 2022[9]
Himantolophus mauli Bertelsen & G. Krefft, 1988
Himantolophus multifurcatus Bertelsen & G. Krefft, 1988
Himantolophus pseudalbinares Bertelsen & G. Krefft, 1988
cornifer group
Himantolophus azurlucens Beebe & Crane, 1947
Himantolophus compressus Osório, 1912
Himantolophus cornifer Bertelsen & G. Krefft, 1988
Himantolophus litoceras A. L. Stewart & Pietsch, 2010[10]
Himantolophus macroceras Bertelsen & G. Krefft, 1988
Himantolophus macroceratoides Bertelsen & G. Krefft, 1988
brevirostris group
Himantolophus brevirostris Regan, 1925
rostratus group
Himantolophus rostratus Regan, 1925
These groups were determined from the morphology of the metamorphosed females, except for brevirostris and rostratus which were determined from males only.[7]
Characteristics
Footballfish are sexually dimorphic with the metamorphosed females and males being very different in appearance. The metamorphosed females are distinguished from other anglerfishes of the suborder Ceratioidei by having a well developed lower jaw which protrudes beyond the snout. They also have a wide vomer which has no teeth, well developed spines on the sphenotic bone, there is a covering of low, rounded papillae on the snout and chin and, at least in larger individuals, there are conical spines in the skin which are scattered over the head and body. The esca of footballfishes vary in size and morphology, to a greater extent than other deep sea anglerfishes. The metamorphosed males have a line of large spines above and behind the upper denticular bone, their eyes are directed to the sides and have moderately sized and they have a large olfactory system with sideways pointing nostrils. They have between 16 and 31 denticular teeth on the snout and between 20 and 50 on the chin, these teeth merge at thire bases to form the upper and lower denticular bones. Their skin has a dense covering of dermal spinules. The larvae are round with a swollen appearance to the skin with pectoral fins that do not extend beyond the dorsal and anal fins, the females have a small club-shaped rudimentary illicium.[7] The males are considerably smaller than the females, for example in H. groenlandicus the maximum published standard length for a male is 4 cm (1.6 in) while that of a females is 60 cm (24 in).[11]
Distribution and habitat
Footballfishes are found in the mesopelagic and bathypelagic zones in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans,[12] as well as the Southern Ocean.[8]
Biology
Footballfishes are one of the ceratioid groups in which the males are free living and non-parasitic on the females.[7] The males use their highly developed olfactory organs to detect females, once they find a female they attach themselves to her but do not fuse with her to become parasitic. The eggs and larvae are pelagic.[12] The specialised teeth on the denticular bones are used to temporarily attach the male to the female.[13] There is a record of a female with a scar on her skin that was probably caused by a male that became detached.[14]
At the depths at which these fishes live it is dark and food is sparse and rarely encountered. The female footballfish have bioluminescent bacteria in their escas and this is used to attract prey to within striking distance of the mouth. The prey is whatever they can fit into their mouths, and the backward curving teeth ensure that prey are unable to escape. Recorded prey includes fishes, squid and crustaceans.[15]
Further reading
Jordan Mendoza (12 May 2021). "Beachgoer discovers rare terrifying 'football fish' on Southern California shore". USA Today.
Mike Schaadt. "Creature Feature: Football Fish". Cabrillo Marine Aquarium.
References
Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Himantolophidae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Himantolophus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
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.
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.
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 25 June 2024.
Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Himantolophus". FishBase. February 2024 version.
Theodore W. Pietsch Ph.D. (2009). Oceanic Anglerfishes: Extraordinary Diversity in the Deep Sea. University of California Press. p. 63. ISBN 978-0520942554.
Pietsch, T. W. and C. P. Kenaley (2011). "A new species of deep-sea ceratioid anglerfish, genus Himantolophus (Lophiiformes: Himantolophidae), from southern waters of all three major oceans of the world". Copeia. 2011 (4): 490–496. doi:10.1643/CI-11-045. JSTOR 4141656.
Melapurra Rajeeshkumar; Theodore W. Pietsch; Naryanane Saravanane (2022). "A new species of deep-sea anglerfish, genus Himantolophus (Lophiiformes: Himantolophidae) from the Andaman Sea, India". Zootaxa. 5178 (6): 589–594. doi:10.11646/ZOOTAXA.5178.6.6. PMID 36095708.
Stewart, A.L.; Pietsch, T.W. (2010). "A new species of deep-sea anglerfish, genus Himantolophus (Lophiiformes: Himantolophidae) from the Western South Pacific, with comments on the validity of H. pseudalbinares" (PDF). Zootaxa. 2671: 53–60. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2671.1.5.
Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Himantolophus groenlandicus". FishBase. February 2024 version.
Dianne J. Bray. "Footballfishes, HIMANTOLOPHIDAE". Fishes of Australia. Museums Victoria. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
Caruso, J.H. (2002). "Order Lophiiformes: Lophiidae". The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. pp. 1043–1049.
Theodore W. Pietsch (1976). "Dimorphism, Parasitism and Sex: Reproductive Strategies among Deepsea Ceratioid Anglerfishes". Copeia. 1976 (4): 781–793.
"Our Work Pacific Footballfish". California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
Anderson, M. Eric and Leslie, Robin W. (2001). "Review of the deep-sea anglerfishes (Lophiiformes: Ceratioidei) of southern Africa". Ichthyological Bulletin. J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology, Rhodes University. ISSN 0073-4381. Retrieved October 31, 2005.
Munk, Ole. (1999). "The escal photophore of ceratioids (Pisces; Ceratioidei) — a review of structure and function". Acta Zoologica, Vol 80., Issue 4, pp. 265–284. Retrieved October 31, 2005.
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