Overview
Beryciformes is an order of . This is a very poorly understood group of 16 families[citation needed], 57 genera, and about 219 species. Most[who?] believe that it is probably an artificial assemblage of unrelated taxa that are thrown together for convenience only; there are no convincing characteristics that tie all members together. Most species live in deep marine waters, and avoid bright light, although they may come closer to the surface at night.1]
Classification
The order contains seven families:[2]
- Suborder Berycoidei
- Berycidae -- alfonsinos, nannygais
- Suborder Holocentroidei
- Holocentridae -- soldierfishes, squirrelfishes
- Suborder Trachichthyoidei
- Anomalopidae -- flashlight fishes, lanterneye fishes
- Anoplogastridae -- fangtooth fishes, fangtooths
- Diretmidae -- spinyfins
- Monocentridae -- pineconefishes, pineapple fishes
- Trachichthyidae -- redfishes, roughies, slime heads
Photos
Taxonomy
The Order Beryciformes is further organized into finer groupings including:
- Suborder (4): Berycoidei · Cetomimoidei · Dinopterygoidei · Stephanoberycoidei
- Family (24): Aipichthyidae · Anomalopidae · Anoplogasteridae · Anoplogastridae · Araripichthyidae · Barbourisiidae · Berycidae · Cetomimidae · Dinopterygidae · Diretmidae · Gibberichthyidae · Hispidoberycidae · Holocentridae · Megalomycteridae · Melamphaidae · Mirapinnidae · Monocentridae · Monocentrididae · Pharmacichthyidae · Pycnosteroididae · Rondeletiidae · Stephanoberycidae · Stichocentridae · Trachichthyidae
- Species: ZipcodeZoo has pages for 459 species and subspecies in the Order Beryciformes.
Families
Aipichthyidae
Anomalopidae
The flashlight fish are a family, the Anomalopidae, of fish. There are some unrelated fish with similar features, some of which are also called flashlight fish. Notable among these are the deep sea lanternfish, of the family Myctophidae, of which there are over 200 species. [more]
Anoplogasteridae
Anoplogastridae
Fangtooths are deep-sea, ferocious-looking fish of the family Anoplogastridae (sometimes spelt "Anoplogasteridae"). With a circumglobal distribution in tropical and cold-temperate waters, the family contains only two very similar species, in one genus, with no known close relatives: the common fangtooth, Anoplogaster cornuta, found worldwide; and the shorthorned fangtooth, Anoplogaster brachycera, found in the tropical waters of the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean and the english isles. [more]
Araripichthyidae
Barbourisiidae
The velvet whalefish, Barbourisia rufa, is a deep-sea , the sole member of its family Barbourisiidae. It is found throughout the tropical and temperate parts of the world's oceans, mainly in the Pacific near Japan and New Zealand, at depths of 300 to 2,000 m. This species seems very closely related to some flabby whalefishes and it was initially believed to belong into that family by some. They have been found from 65°N to 40°S in the Atlantic, 50°N to 50°S in the Pacific, and 5–20°S in the Indian Ocean. [more]
Berycidae
The Berycidae is a small family of deep sea fishes, related to the . The family includes the alfonsinos and the nannygais. [more]
Cetomimidae
Flabby whalefishes are small, deep-sea fish of the family Cetomimidae. They are among the most deep-living fish known, with some species recorded at depths in excess of 3.5 kilometres. Within the family are nine genera and 20 species. Juveniles are known as tapetails and were formerly thought to be in a separate family, dubbed Mirapinnidae. Adults exhibit extreme sexual dimorphism, and the adult males were once thought to be exemplars of still another family, Megalomycteridae. [more]
Dinopterygidae
Diretmidae
Spinyfins are a family, Diretmidae, of fishes. The name is from Greek, di meaning "two" and eretmos meaning "oar". They are found worldwide in deep waters, down to as much as 2,000 metres (6,600 ft). [more]
Gibberichthyidae
Hispidoberycidae
Holocentridae
The Holocentridae is a family of , with the members of the subfamily Holocentrinae typically known as squirrelfish, while the members of Myripristinae typically are known as soldierfish. In Hawaii they are known as menpachi. [more]
Megalomycteridae
Melamphaidae
Ridgeheads, also known as bigscales, are a (Melamphaidae, from the Greek melanos [black] and amphi [by both sides]) of small, deep-sea stephanoberyciform fish. The family contains approximately 37 species in five genera; their distribution is worldwide, but ridgeheads are absent from the Arctic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Although the family is one of the most widespread and plentiful of deep-sea families, none of its members are of interest to commercial fishery. [more]
Mirapinnidae
Monocentridae
Pinecone fishes are small and unusual marine fish of the family Monocentridae. The family contains just four species in two genera, one of which is monotypic. Their distribution is limited to tropical and subtropical waters of the Indo-Pacific. Pinecone fishes are popular subjects of public aquaria, but are both expensive and considered a challenge for the hobbyist to maintain. [more]
Monocentrididae
Pharmacichthyidae
Pycnosteroididae
Rondeletiidae
The redmouth whalefishes are two of deep-sea whalefishes in the genus Rondeletia, the only genus in the family Rondeletiidae. They are apparently close to the velvet whalefish (Barbourisia rufa), and apparently also to the gibberfishes (Gibberichthyidae). The latter and the Rondeletiidae are the only known living fishes which have the mysterious Tominaga's organ. [more]
Stephanoberycidae
Pricklefishes are a family, Stephanoberycidae, of fishes in the order . [more]
Stichocentridae
Trachichthyidae
Slimeheads, also known as roughies and redfish, are mostly small, exceptionally long-lived, deep-sea fish constituting the family Trachichthyidae (derived from the Greek trachys ["rough"] and ichthys ["fish"]). Found in temperate to tropical waters of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Ocean, the family comprises approximately 45 species in eight genera. Slimeheads are named for the network of muciferous canals riddling their heads. [more]
At least 72 species and subspecies belong to the Family Trachichthyidae.
More info about the Family Trachichthyidae may be found here.
References
- ^ Paxton, John R. (1998). Paxton, J.R. & Eschmeyer, W.N.. ed. Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 160–163. ISBN 0-12-547665-5.
- ^ "Beryciformes". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. November 2008 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2008.
Sources
- The text on this page is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It includes material from Wikipedia retrieved Thursday, August 13, 2009.
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