''Dolopichthys'' is a genus of marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

belonging to the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Oneirodidae, the dreamers, a family of deep sea

anglerfish The anglerfish are ray-finned fish in the order Lophiiformes (). Both the order's common name, common and scientific name comes from the characteristic mode of predation, in which a modified dorsal Fish fin#Ray-fins, fin ray acts as a Aggressiv ...

es. These predatory, deep-sea fishes are found in the tropical and subtropical oceans around the world.

Taxonomy

''Dolopichthys'' was first proposed as a

monospecific genus In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

in 1899 by the American

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

Samuel Garman Samuel Walton Garman (June 5, 1843 – September 30, 1927), or "Garmann" as he sometimes styled himself, was an American naturalist and zoologist. He became noted as an ichthyologist and herpetologist. Biography Garman was born in Indiana Co ...

when he described ''D. allector''. Garman gave the type locality of ''D. allector'' as the

Gulf of Panama The Gulf of Panama () is a gulf of the Pacific Ocean off the southern coast of Panama, where most of eastern Panama's southern shores adjoin it. The Gulf has a maximum width of , a maximum depth of and the size of . The Panama Canal connects the ...

at 5°26'20"N, 86°55'W,

Albatross Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Paci ...

station 3371 from a depth between . The 5th edition of

Fishes of the World ''Fishes of the World'' is a standard reference for the systematics of fishes. It was first written in 1976 by the American ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011). Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of t ...

classifies this genus in the family Oneirodidae in the

suborder Order () is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and recognized ...

Ceratioidei Ceratioidei, the deep-sea anglerfishes or pelagic anglerfishes, is a suborder of marine ray-finned fishes, one of five suborders in the order Lophiiformes, the anglerfishes. These fishes are found in tropical and temperate seas throughout the wor ...

of the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

Lophiiformes The anglerfish are ray-finned fish in the order Lophiiformes (). Both the order's common and scientific name comes from the characteristic mode of predation, in which a modified dorsal fin ray acts as a lure for prey (akin to a human angler, ...

Etymology

''Dolopichthys'' is a combinations of ''dolops'' or ''dolopos'', a word meaning "ambusher", with ''ichthys'', the Greek word for "fish". This name is thought to be a reference to these fishes lying in wait on the sea bed and attracting prey with the esca, or lure.

Species

There are currently seven recognized species in this genus: * '' Dolopichthys allector'' Garman, 1899 * '' Dolopichthys danae'' Regan, 1926 * '' Dolopichthys dinema'' Pietsch, 1972 * '' Dolopichthys jubatus'' Regan & Trewavas, 1932 * '' Dolopichthys karsteni'' Leipertz & Pietsch, 1987 * '' Dolopichthys longicornis'' A. E. Parr, 1927 * '' Dolopichthys pullatus'' Regan & Trewavas, 1932 (Lobed dreamer)

Characteristics

''Dolopichthys'' is, like other deep-sea anglerfishes, sexually dimorphic. The metamotphosed females are distinguished from thos of '' Chaenophryne'' by the possession of spines on the sphenotic bone, a deep incision on the rear margin of the operculum, rod-like pelvic bones which may be expanded at its tip. Characteritics which distinguish them from the metamorphosed females of ''

Oneirodes ''Oneirodes'' is a genus of is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Oneirodidae, the dreamers, a family of deep sea anglerfishes. These predatory, deep-sea fishes are found around the world. This is the type genus, and the m ...

'', '' Tyrannophryne'', ''

Phyllorhinichthys ''Phyllorhinichthys'' is a genus of dreamers. Like other oneirodids, they are small, bathypelagic fish with bioluminescent lures. ''Phyllorhinichthys'' is unique amongst the deep-sea anglerfish in having a pair of fleshy, leaf-like structures on ...

'', '' Microlophichthys'' and '' Danaphryne'' include having almost stratigh dorsal edges to the

frontal bones In the human skull, the frontal bone or sincipital bone is an unpaired bone which consists of two portions.''Gray's Anatomy'' (1918) These are the vertically oriented squamous part, and the horizontally oriented orbital part, making up the bony ...

and a long, thin subopercle with a clearly oval ventral end. They differ from the metamorphosed females of '' Ctenochirichthys'', '' Leptacanthichthys'', '' Chirophryne'' and '' Puck'' in having a wide lobe to the

pectoral fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish aquatic locomotion, swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the vertebral column ...

which is shorter than the longest fin ray on the pectoral fin. The double head on the

hyomandibular The hyomandibula, commonly referred to as hyomandibular one(, from , "upsilon-shaped" (υ), and Latin: mandibula, "jawbone"), is a set of bones that is found in the hyoid region in most fishes. It usually plays a role in suspending the jaws and ...

bone sepaartes this genus from '' Bertella'' and the caudal,peduncle having a depth of less than 20% of the

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of fish anatomy, their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and fishery biology. Overall length Standard length (SL) is ...

distinguishes it from '' Dermatias''. The

illicium ''Illicium'' is a genus of flowering plants treated as part of the family Schisandraceae,

emerges from the snout between the frontal bones, separating this genus from ''

Lophodolos ''Lophodolos'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Oneirodidae, the dreamers, a family of deep sea anglerfishes. These predatory, deep-sea fishes are found in the tropical and subtropical oceans around the world. Taxono ...

''. In comparison to ''Pentherichthys''there is a spine at the

symphysis A symphysis (, : symphyses) is a fibrocartilaginous fusion between two bones. It is a type of cartilaginous joint, specifically a secondary cartilaginous joint. # A symphysis is an amphiarthrosis, a slightly movable joint. # A growing together o ...

of the lower jaw and there is no internal pigmentation on the rays of the

caudal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported only ...

. '' Spiniphryne'' differs from this genus by having naked skin or only having tiny, scattered dermal spinules, which can be seen only through a microscope in cleared and stained specimens. ''D. longicornis'' is the largest species in the genus with a maximum published standard length of while the smallest is apparently ''D. dinema'' with a maximum published standard length of , although this is only known from two specimens. The males are non-parasitic with between 5 and 8 teeth in the upper denticular and between 8 and 10 in the lower denticular. The larvae, males and juvenile females have pigmented subdermal tissue on the caudal peduncle which is separated inro a dorsal, a lateral and a ventral groups. The largest male known had a length of .

Distribution and habitat

''Dolopichthys'' anglerfishes are found in the temperate and tropical oceans around the world.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2709133 Oneirodidae Marine fish genera Taxa named by Samuel Garman