Double anglers are a family, Diceratiidae, of
anglerfish
The anglerfish are fish of the teleost order Lophiiformes (). They are bony fish named for their characteristic mode of predation, in which a modified luminescent fin ray (the esca or illicium) acts as a lure for other fish. The luminescence ...
es. They are found in deep, lightless waters of the
Atlantic,
Indian and western
Pacific Oceans.
They are easily distinguished from other anglerfishes by their possession of a second light-bearing
dorsal fin spine immediately behind the illicium (the
bioluminescent
Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by living organisms. It is a form of chemiluminescence. Bioluminescence occurs widely in marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as in some Fungus, fungi, microorganisms including ...
lure present in other anglerfishes).
As in other anglerfishes, the male is very much smaller than the female, and after a
larval and adolescent free-living stage, spends the rest of his life parasitically attached to a female.
Species in this family are known almost entirely from adolescent females; only two
larvae, one adult female, and one adult male have been found.
One of the first specimens of the two-rod anglerfish (first called ''Ceratias bispinosus'') was collected during the expedition of during 1873–1876. It was first described by
Albert Günther in 1887 in volume 22 of "Report on the deep-sea fishes collected by H. M. S. Challenger during the years 1873–76. Report on the Scientific Results of the Voyage of ADD"
Species
The seven species in two genera are:
* Genus ''
Bufoceratias''
** ''
Bufoceratias microcephalus''
H. C. Ho, Kawai & Amaoka, 2016
** ''
Bufoceratias shaoi
''Bufoceratias shaoi'' is a species of double angler, a type of anglerfish. The fish is bathypelagic and has been found at depths ranging from . It has been found in the western Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Oce ...
''
Pietsch Pietsch is a German surname. It may refer to:
* Bill Pietsch (1935–2004), American politician and businessman
* Charles Francis Pietsch (1844–1920), American German-language newspaper publisher
* Coral Wong Pietsch (born 1947), American bri ...
, Ho & Chen, 2004
** ''
Bufoceratias thele
''Bufoceratias thele'' is a species of double angler, a type of anglerfish. The fish is bathypelagic and has been found at depths ranging from . It is endemic to the western Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest o ...
''
Uwate, 1979
** ''
Bufoceratias wedli''
Pietschmann, 1926
* Genus ''
Diceratias''
** ''
Diceratias bispinosus
''Diceratias bispinosus'', commonly known as the two-rod angler, is a species of double angler, a type of anglerfish. The fish is bathypelagic and has been found at depths ranging from . It is endemic to the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean ...
''
Günther, 1887 (Two-rod anglerfish)
** ''
Diceratias pileatus
''Diceratias pileatus'' is a species of double angler, a type of anglerfish. The fish is bathypelagic and has been found at depths ranging from . It is endemic to the Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's fi ...
''
Uwate, 1979
** ''
Diceratias trilobus
''Diceratias trilobus'' is a species of double angler, a type of anglerfish. The fish is bathypelagic and has been found as deep as . It is endemic to the northwest Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's ...
''
Balushkin & Fedorov, 1986
See also
*
List of fish families
This is a list of fish families sorted alphabetically by scientific name. There are 525 families in the list.
__NOTOC__
A - B - C - D - E - F -
G - H - I - J - K -
L - M - N - O - P - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z
- ...
References
Diceratiidae
Deep sea fish
{{Lophiiformes-stub