Bathysaurus ferox

• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• Bibliography
• More Info
• Notes

Common Names

Click on the language to view common names.

Description

Family Synodontidae

Chiefly marine ; rarely brackish . Distribution: Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. Supramaxilla small, if present. Branchiostegal rays 8-26. Vertebrae 39-67. Non-hermaphroditic, except in the monoecious Bathysaurus. Small cylindrical fishes with spineless fins and large mouth full of slender sharp teeth, even on tongue. Voracious predators of small fishes.The family Synodontidae belongs to the Class Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) and the Order Aulopiformes. It contains 5 genera and 55 species. It may be found in Marine and Brackish environments and is primarily Marine. Members of this family are not used in the aquarium trade. Reproductively, most members of this family are nonguarders. The main mode of swimming of adult fish in this family is carangiform . Compared with other fish, the activity level of this family tends to be normal. Members of this family have been dated back to the Miocene epoch of the Tertiary period. Etymology of this family name : Greek, syn, sym = all together, united + Greek, odous = teeth

Habitat

Usually occurs below the 4°C isotherm . Rests stationary on the bottom with head slightly elevated in typical lizardfish fashion. May be found at depths of 600 to 3500 meters.

Typically found in water with a depth of 0 to -4,839 meters (0 to -15,876 feet).Mean = -1,477.350 meters (-4,846.949 feet), Standard Deviation = 1,002.560 based on 302 observations. Ocean depth information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre.

Biome: Saltwater . Bathydemersal .

Biology

Diet

Feeds primarily on fish and decapods (Ref. 4964).

Reproduction

Synchronously hermaphroditic .

Taxonomy

Unambiguous Synonyms

1. Bathysaurus agassizi Goode & Bean, 1883
2. Bathysaurus agassizii Goode & Bean, 1883
3. Bathysaurus ferox (Guenther)
4. Bathysaurus ferox Günther, 1878
5. Macristium chavesi Regan, 1903

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: Data last modified by FishBase 08-Jan-1994

Similar Species

Members of the genus Bathysaurus

There are approximately 2 species in this genus:

B. ferox (Deepsea Lizardfish) · B. mollis (Highfin Lizardfish)

Bibliography

• Brito, A. (1991). Catalogo de los pesces de las Islas Canarias. Francisco Lemus, la Laguna. 230 p.
• Haedrich, R.L. and N.R. Merrett (1988). Summary atlas of deep-living demersal fishes in the North Atlantic Basin. Journal of Natural History 22:1325-1362.
• Heemstra, P.C. (1995). Additions and corrections for the 1995 impression. p. v - xv. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Revised Edition of Smiths' Sea Fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
• Jonsson, G. (1992). Islenskir fiskar. Fiolvi, Reykjavik, 568 pp.
• Moore, Jon A., Karsten E. Hartel, James E. Craddock, and John K. Galbraith 2003. An annotated list of deepwater fishes from off the New England region, with new area records. Northeastern Naturalist, vol. 10, no. 2. 159-248.
• Paulin, C., A. Stewart, C. Roberts and P. McMillan (1989). New Zealand fish: a complete guide. National Museum of New Zealand Miscellaneous Series No. 19. 279 p.
• Paxton, J.R., D.F. Hoese, G.R. Allen and J.E. Hanley (1989). Pisces. Petromyzontidae to Carangidae. Zoological Catalogue of Australia, Vol. 7. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, 665 p.
• Russell, B. C. / Carpenter, Kent E., and Volker H. Niem, eds. 1999. Bathysauridae: Deepsea lizardfishes. FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes: The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific, vol. 3: Batoid fishes, chimaeras and Bony fishes, part 1 (Elopidae to Linophrynidae). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Rome, Italy. 1946-1947. ISBN: 92-5-104302-7.
• Sulak, K.J. (1984). Synodontidae (including Macristiidae and Bathysauridae). p. 405-411. In P.J.P. Whitehead, M.-L. Bauchot, J.-C. Hureau, J. Nielsen and E. Tortonese (eds.) Fishes of the North-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. UNESCO, Paris. vo
• Sulak, K.J. (1990). Synodontidae. p. 365-370. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 1.

More Info

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Notes

Contributors

• Allen, Gerald R. (from FishBase).
• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2006. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed October 7, 2006.
• FishBase 2006.
• Froese, R., and D. Pauly. FishBase 2004. International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 01, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 5 providers.
• MBLWHOI Library: Universal Biological Index and Organizer. uBio.org accessed July 18, 2008.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 01, 2008:

• Canadian Museum of Nature: Canadian Museum of Nature Fish Collection
• FishBase: FishBase DiGIR Provider - Philippine Server
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Atlantic Reference Centre (OBIS Canada)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Canadian Museum of Nature - Fish Collection (OBIS Canada)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: CSIRO Marine Data Warehouse (OBIS Australia)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Ifremer BIOCEAN database (Deep Sea Benthic Fauna)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: iziko South African Museum - Fish Collection
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: MAR-ECO
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Demersal Surveys (years 1986-1990)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Demersal Surveys (years 1991-1995)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Demersal Surveys (years 1996-2000)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: SeamountsOnline (seamount biota)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity - Fish Collection (AfrOBIS)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: South Western Pacific Regional OBIS Data provider for the NIWA Marine Biodata Information System
• Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History: Vertebrate specimens
• Museum national d'histoire naturelle: Ichtyologie
• OZCAM (Online Zoological Collections of Australian Museums) Provider: Online Zoological Collections of Australian Museums

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 3855585
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Fis-34863
• Fishbase Species ID: 11841
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13537459
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 162782
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 104552

Footnotes

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