Ogcocephalus pantostictus

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: Ogcocephalioidea

Familia: Ogcocephalidae
Genus: Ogcocephalus
Species: O. pantostictus

Ogcocephalus pantostictus, the spotted batfish, is a species of ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ogcocephalidae, the deep sea batfishes. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean, somewhat restricted to the northern and the western Gulf of Mexico.
Taxonomy

Ogcocephalus pantostictus was first formally described in 1980 by the American ichthyologist Margaret G. Bradbury with its type locality given as Santa Rosa Sound, Pensacola, Florida.[2] The genus Ogcocephalus is classified within the "Eastern Pacific/Western Atlantic 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

Ogcocephalus pantostictus is a member of the genus Ogcocephalus, the name of which is a combination of ogkos, which means “hook”, and cephalus, meaning “head”, an allusion to the pointed rostrum on the snout of the type species. The specific name pantostictus, combines pantos, meaning "all", with stictus, which means "spotted", an allusion to the spots over the body of this fish.[5]
Description

Ogcocephalus pantostictus as a flattened head, although this is higher than the rest of the triangular disk, with a pointed snout. The rostrum is shelf-like and rather blunt. The esca, or lure, has 3 fleshy points which is retracted into the small illicial cavity under the rostrum. It has a wide mouth which has a width which is more than half the width of the head. There is a blunt, poorly developed, simple spine on the lower, posterior angle of the operculum. The gill rakers are oval shaped plates which are covered in small teeth and the gill openings are small, opening behind the upper base of the pectoral fin, this fin and the pelvic fin's are limb-like with the pectoral fins not widely attached to the body. The dorsal and anal fins are small, the dorsal fin is covered in skin and is on the tail while the anal fin is fleshy and under the tail. he upper surface of the body is covered in large buckler-like scales and with conical spines, the lower surface of the body has a complete covering of pointed, bony scales and the underside of the tail has a dense covering of small spines, apart from a few conical spines on its midline.[6] The whole of the upper surd=face of this fish is covered a polka dot pattern of small spots. The spotted batfish has a maximum published total length of 31 cm (12 in).[7]
Distribution and habitat

Ogcocephalus pantosticus is endemic to the Gulf of Mexico from southwest Florida northwards along the Gulf coast of the United States into Mexico as far south as Veracruz.[1] This species has been confused with the similar O. cubifrons but the two species appear to parapatric, O. cubifrons being found to teh south of the range of the spotted batfish.[8] The spotted batfish is a demersal fish is found at depths between 5 and 31 m (16 and 102 ft),[1] on soft substrates.[6]
Biology

Ogcocephalus pantostictus preys on a benthic invertebrates, espacially gastropods, polychaetes, the xanthid crab, Callinectes similis, and the occasional small fish.[1] This species has pelagic eggs and pelagic larvae.[6]
References

Collette, B.; Grubbs, D. @; Pezold, F.; et al. (2015). "Ogcocephalus pantostictus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T190136A1941442. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T190136A1941442.en. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Ogcocephalus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
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.
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 1): Families LOPHIIDAE, ANTENNARIIDAE, TETRABRACHIIDAE, LOPHICHTHYIDAE, BRACHIONICHTHYIDAE, CHAUNACIDAE and OGCOCEPHALIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
"Species: Ogcocephalus pantostictus, Spotted Batfish". Shorefishes of the Greater Caribbean online information system. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Ogcocephalus pantostictus". FishBase. February 2024 version.
Carpenter, K.E. (2015). "Ogcocephalus cubifrons". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T20664248A20683343. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T20664248A20683343.en. Retrieved 28 January 2024.