''Spiniphryne'', also called spiny dreamers, is a genus of dreamers. Like other deep-sea anglerfish, ''Spiniphryne'' lure prey to them by means of a modified first dorsal fin ray with a

bioluminescent Bioluminescence is the emission of light during a chemiluminescence reaction by living organisms. Bioluminescence occurs in multifarious organisms ranging from marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as in some fungi, microorganisms inc ...

bulb at the tip. ''Spiniphryne'' is unique amongst the oneirodids for being covered in tiny spines.

Species

There are currently two recognized species in this genus: * ''

Spiniphryne duhameli ''Spiniphryne'', also called spiny dreamers, is a genus of dreamers. Like other deep-sea anglerfish, ''Spiniphryne'' lure prey to them by means of a modified first dorsal fin ray with a bioluminescent bulb at the tip. ''Spiniphryne'' is unique a ...

'' Pietsch & Z. H. Baldwin, 2006 * '' Spiniphryne gladisfenae'' ( Beebe, 1932) (Prickly dreamer)

Taxonomy

The type species, ''S. gladisfenae'', was originally described by

William Beebe Charles William Beebe ( ; July 29, 1877 – June 4, 1962) was an American natural history, naturalist, ornithologist, marine biologist, entomologist, explorer, and author. He is remembered for the numerous expeditions he conducted for the New Y ...

in 1932 under the oneirodid genus '' Dolopichthys''. Six months later that year, Regan and Trewavas revised the species into a new genus, '' Centrophryne'', along with the newly described species '' Centrophryne spinulosa''. In 1951, Bertelsen moved ''C. spinulosa'' into its own family, Centrophrynidae, but retained "''Centrophryne gladisfenae''" in the Oneirodidae under a new genus, ''Spiniphryne''. This classification was later upheld by Bertelsen and Pietsch in 1975, who determined that the resemblance between ''Spiniphryne'' and ''Centrophryne'' is superficial.

Distribution and habitat

The type specimen of ''S. gladisfenae'' was collected off

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

. ''S. gladisfenae'' has been collected from the eastern and western north

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

, the western

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

, and the western

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

ranging from

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New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. ''S. duhameli'' has only been collected from the central and eastern north

, at a maximum depth of 2500 meters.

Description

Metamorphosed Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causi ...

female ''Spiniphryne'' have elongate and slender bodies rather than globulose. The body is entirely black except for the appendages at the tip of the esca, which are dark red to bright orange due to

blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood is com ...

. The subdermal coloration consists of large, subdermal

melanophore Chromatophores are cells that produce color, of which many types are pigment-containing cells, or groups of cells, found in a wide range of animals including amphibians, fish, reptiles, crustaceans and cephalopods. Mammals and birds, in contrast ...

s most densely grouped along the back. The fin bases and caudal peduncle are unpigmented. The mouth is moderately large, filled with slender, recurved teeth of large and small sizes. The first two or three teeth of the

premaxilla The premaxilla (or praemaxilla) is one of a pair of small cranial bones at the very tip of the upper jaw of many animals, usually, but not always, bearing teeth. In humans, they are fused with the maxilla. The "premaxilla" of therian mammals h ...

are immobile, while the rest can be depressed. They have well-developed sphenotic spines (above the eyes) and a symphysial spine (at the tip of the jaw where the two halves meet). The illicium ("fishing rod") is relatively short. ''Spiniphryne'' is distinguished from all other oneirodids by tiny, close-set dermal spinules that entirely cover the body and fins. Males and larvae have yet to be encountered. The two species of ''Spiniphryne'' are distinguished from each other by details of the esca ("lure").

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2780852 Oneirodidae Marine fish genera