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: Ovalentaria
Superordo: Cichlomorphae
Ordo: Cichliformes
Familia: Cichlidae
Subfamilia: Pseudocrenilabrinae
Tribus: Haplochromini
Genus: Nimbochromis
Species: Nimbochromis venustus
Name
Nimbochromis venustus (Boulenger, 1908)
Lectotype: BMNH 1908.10.26.66. [Paralectotypes: (4) BMNH 1908.10.26.67-69 (3)]. Lectotype designated by Eccles & Trewavas, 1989:291.
Type locality: Lake Malawi [Lake Nyasa] and the Shire River, southeastern Africa.
Synonyms
Cyrtocara venusta (Boulenger, 1908)
Haplochromis simulans Regan, 1922
Haplochromis venustus Boulenger, 1908
References
Boulenger, G.A. 1908: Diagnoses of new fishes discovered by Capt. E. L. Rhoades in Lake Nyassa. Annals and Magazine of Natural History (Series 8), 2 (9): 238–243. BHL
Snoeks, J. & M. Hanssens 2004: Identification guidelines to other non-mbuna. Pp. 266-310 in: Snoeks, J. (ed). The cichlid diversity of Lake Malawi/Nyasa/Niassa: identification, distribution and taxonomy. Cichlid Press, El Paso, Texas: 1–360.
Nimbochromis venustus in FishBase,
Froese, R. & Pauly, D. (eds.) 2024. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication, www.fishbase.org, version 02/2024.
Nimbochromis venustus, commonly called venustus hap or giraffe hap, is a Haplochromine cichlid endemid to Lake Malawi in Africa. It prefers the deeper regions of the lake (6 to 23 metres (20 to 75 ft)) where it hunts smaller juvenile cichlids with a specialised hunting technique. After spotting prey, it will partially submerge itself into the sand and lie motionless until the chosen fish comes within reach. it will then dart out of the sand and strike. It is related to Nimbochromis livingstonii. In the wild it is known to grow to 25 centimetres (9.8 in) TL though usually not exceeding a length of 22.5 centimetres (8.9 in) TL.[2]
It is a popular freshwater aquarium fish. The fish are generally yellow with a pattern of darker, melanic blotches. Males will have a blue head and other blue colouring when they reach sexual maturity.
See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nimbochromis venustus.
List of freshwater aquarium fish species
References
Konings, A.; Kazembe, J.; Makocho, P.; Mailosi, A. (2019). "Nimbochromis venustus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T60891A155043472. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T60891A155043472.en.
Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2013). "Nimbochromis venustus" in FishBase. April 2013 version.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
Superordo: Scopelomorpha
Ordo: Myctophiformes
Familia: Neoscopelidae
Genus: Neoscopelus
Species: N. macrolepidotus
Neoscopelus macrolepidotus, also known as a large-scaled lantern fish, is a species of small mesopelagic or bathypelagic fish of the family Neoscopelidae, which contains six species total along three genera.[1] The family Neoscopelidae is one of the two families of the order Myctophiformes. Neoscopelidae can be classified by the presence of an adipose fin. The presence of photophores, or light-producing organs, further classify the species into the genus Neoscopelus.[2] N. macrolepidotus tends to be mesopelagic until the individuals become large adults, which is when they settle down to the bathypelagic zone.[2]
The species Neoscopelus macrolepidotus is described as having a dark grey ventral surface, a greyish-silver head, pinkish-red fins, and rows of photophores along the ventral portion of the body and along the sides of the tongue.[3] These photophores produce and emit light in the process of bioluminescence. The species generally does not exceed 25 cm in length and is found exclusively in marine environments, along various parts of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans on continental shelves.[3]
Range
Neoscopelus macrolepidotus was originally discovered at Madeira, an autonomous region of Portugal, by English naturalist James Yate Johnson in 1863. Madeira is an archipelago, or island chain, located southwest of Portugal's mainland.[1] After this initial species discovery, N. macrolepidotus was documented in various oceans and regions around the world, reaching as far as 51°N latitude. The majority of the species, however, lives in tropical and subtropical regions, not exceeding 45° latitude in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.[1] The species also lives a majority of its life between depths of 300 and 1100 m, which most directly correlates to the mesopelagic, or intermediate depths of the sea. Since the mesopelagic zone allows some light penetration, one of the biggest limiting factors of the fish population in this zone is predation. This limiting factor is especially present in the daytime, when more light is penetrating the water column and there is generally more visibility.
Adaptations and behavior
Marine organisms in the mesopelagic zone must adapt to the environmental and behavioral constraints present as light is diminished. These constraints force species to use various senses, such as sight and smell, in order to navigate and survive. For instance, Neoscopelus macrolepidetus and other closely related lanternfishes are evolutionarily fit to have greater visual capabilities in the mesopelagic due to the presence of larger eyes.[4] These larger eyes help increase sensitivity to the light reflected through the water column above and the light of other bioluminescent organisms.[4] The presence of a larger mouth with a posteriorly expanded jaw also helps aid in feeding.[3]
The known feeding habits of the Neoscopelus genera are limited, however, a common behavior of micronekton is diel vertical migration. This type of migration includes a daily routine of navigating through the bathypelagic zone during the day and swimming up to the mesopelagic at night.[5] This behavior is an attempt to avoid large-scale predators during the day while having the ability to feed on smaller organisms, such as zooplankton, at night. Since the species Neoscopelus macrolepidotus has rows of small teeth, the feeding capabilities can be expanded to other types of micronekton, such as smaller fishes or crustaceans.[3]
Bioluminescence
As mentioned before, Neoscopelus macrolepidotus contains photophores that allow the emission of light. These bioluminescent structures were first exclusively found on the ventral surface of the body, until a scientific study conducted by Seishi Kuwabara examined photophores found in the tongues of individuals belonging to the species Neoscopelus macrolepidotus and Neoscopelus microchir.[6] Neoscopelus microchir is the second species comprising the genus Neoscopelus. Prior to the experiment, the species Neoscopelus microchir was distinguished from Neoscopelus macrolepidotus by having more photophores and a larger head and pectoral fin. Based on Kuwabara's experiments, there were larger photophores and more of them in the tongues of N. microchir, which allowed for another distinguishing factor from the otherwise extremely similar species.[6] These morphological differences in species are subtle, which can make it difficult to distinguish the difference between the species N. macrolepidotus and N. microchir when working in the field.
In terms of functional use, the photophores on the ventral surface of the fish are most likely used to aid in ventral counter-illumination. This is a form of camouflage that fish use to match the intensity of light in the mesopelagic zone in order to hide their silhouettes from larger predators below.[7] This camouflage can be seen as a necessity for species such as Neoscopelus macrolepidotus, since their ventral surface is darker and therefore their body contrasts more with the downwelling light from above. The use of the photophores found in their tongues is unknown, but could be a possible aid in feeding and species recognition in the dim mesopelagic and the dark bathypelagic. The bioluminescence is done endogenously, meaning that light is produced from their own bodies instead of from symbiotic bacteria in photophores.[7]
References
Ordines F, Fricke R, González F, Baldó F (2017-03-31). "First record of Neoscopelus macrolepidotus Johnson, 1863 (Actinopterygii: Myctophiformes: Neoscopelidae) from Irish waters (Porcupine Bank, north-eastern Atlantic)". Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria. 47 (1): 85–89. doi:10.3750/AIEP/02141. hdl:10508/10882. ISSN 0137-1592.
Carpenter KE (2002). The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9251048266. OCLC 492731184.
Bray D. "Neoscopelus macrolepidotus". Fishes of Australia.
de Busserolles F, Marshall NJ (April 2017). "Seeing in the deep-sea: visual adaptations in lanternfishes". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences. 372 (1717). doi:10.1098/rstb.2016.0070. PMC 5312020. PMID 28193815.
Pearcy WG, Brodeur RD (2009). "Nekton". In Steele JH (ed.). Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences (2nd ed.). pp. 1–7. doi:10.1016/b978-012374473-9.00663-9. ISBN 978-0-12-374473-9.
Kuwabara S (2010). "Occurrence of Luminous Organs on the Tongue of Two Scopelid Fishes, Neoscopelus macrolepidotus and N. microchir" (PDF). Acta Pchthyologica et Piscatoria. ISSN 0370-9361.
Davis MP, Holcroft NI, Wiley EO, Sparks JS, Leo Smith W (2014). "Species-specific bioluminescence facilitates speciation in the deep sea". Marine Biology. 161 (5): 1139–1148. doi:10.1007/s00227-014-2406-x. PMC 3996283. PMID 24771948.
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