Order

Lophiiformes

  Class

Actinopterygii

No. in FishBase

Genera : 2 | Species : 4 Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes

  Environment

Fresh : No | Brackish : No | Marine : Yes

  Division

Marine

  Aquarium

none

  First Fossil Record

     

  Remark

From Pietsch (2009). Distribution: Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Distinguishing Character: Elongate, laterally compressed and relatively large in size with the cleft of the mouth vertical to strongly oblique. The back end of the peculiarly elongate pterygiophore of the illicium, emanating from the top midline of the trunk, retracts back and forth through a narrow cranial trough found along the full length of the dorsal region of the cranium, the posterior end of which extends sunken within a cavernous cylindrical skin evagination, projecting anterior to the caruncles. Metamorphosed females lacking sphenotic, quadrate, articular, angular, and preopercular spines. Illicium between the frontal bones on the snout. Skin completely covered with close-set dermal spinules. Notable unique feature are 2 - 3 caruncles (fleshy, wartlike glands) present before soft dorsal fin in females as a modification of 2 or 3 fin rays; soft rays usually 4 (rarely 5) in dorsal and anal fins. Females are host to the sexually parasitic mature males. Larvae "hump-backed", the mouth somewhat vertical and skin moderately inflated. Well-developed sexual dimorphism in all stages, with distinct illicial rudiment and caruncles on the dorsal midline of the trunk. Small pectoral fins. Second dorsal spine of female larvae and juvenile having a distal bioluminescent gland that is subsequently reduced and hidden subcutaneously just behind the base of the illicium in adults. With 4 pectoral radials. Esca oval-shaped and may or may not have 1 - 2 distal appendages. Free-living metamorphosed males having notably large, bowl-shaped eyes and in contrast, having minute olfactory organs. At the tip of the snout is a pair of large denticular teeth, fused at the base and articulating with the pterygiophore of the illicium. At the tip of the lower jaw are 2 pairs of denticular teeth. In juvenile free-living stages, the skin is naked and devoid of pigmentation becoming spinulose and darkly pigmented in parasitic stages. Ceratias holboelli females having standard length of at least 85.5 cm. Free-living males standard length of less than 0.2 cm. Parasitic males length range 0.08 - 14.0 cm. (Ref. 86949) Comments: Dorsal-fin rays rarely 3 or 5, excluding the 2 or 3 reduced rays within the caruncles; pectoral-fin rays 15 - 19 (rarely 14); caudal-fin rays 8 or 9 (8 in Cryptopsaras; the ninth, lowermost ray reduced in Ceratias; 2 simple + 4 bifurcated + 2 (or 3) simple). (Ref. 86949)

  Etymology

Greek, keras or keratos = horn or horned (in reference to the lure projecting from the snout) (Ref. 86949)

  Reproductive guild

nonguarders

  Typical activity level

  Main Ref

Pietsch, T.W. 2009

  Coordinator

  Deep Fin Classification

Osteichthyes | Actinopterygii | Actinopteri | Neopterygii | Teleostei | Osteoglossocephalai | Clupeocephala | Euteleosteomorpha | Neoteleostei | Eurypterygia | Ctenosquamata | Acanthomorphata | Euacanthomorphacea | Percomorphaceae | Percomorpharia | Lophiiformes | Ceratioidei | Ceratiidae