''Caulophryne bacescui'' of marine

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

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 ...

Caulophrynidae, the fanfins or hairy anglerfishes. It is known from a single

specimen Specimen may refer to: Science and technology * Sample (material), a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount * Biological specimen or biospecimen, an organic specimen held by a biorepository f ...

collected from the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

Taxonomy

''Caulophryne bacescui'' was first formally described in 1982 by the Romanian biologist Alina Mihai-Bardan from a single specimen taken from the Peru Trench in the Eastern Pacific Ocean off western South America. This species is classified within the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Caulophryne ''Caulophryne'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Caulophrynidae, the fanfins or hairy anglerfishes. These fishes are found throughout the non-polar oceans of the world. Taxonomy ''Caulophryne'' was first proposed a ...

'' which is one of two genera within the family Caulophrynidae. 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 the Caulophrynidae within the suborder

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 Lophiiformes, the anglerfishes.

Etymology

''Caulophryne bacescui'' is a species within the genus ''Caulophryne'', this name is a combination of ''caulis'', which mean" stem", an allusion to the stem-like base of the

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

, with ''phryne'', meaning "toad", a suffix commonly used in the names of anglerfish genera. Its use may date as far back as

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

and

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

, who referred to anglerfishes as "fishing-frogs" and "sea-frogs", respectively, possibly because of their resemblance to frogs and toads. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

honours the Romanian

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 ...

Mihai C. Băcescu Mihai () is a Romanian given name for males or a surname. It is equivalent to the English name Michael. A variant of the name is Mihail. Its female form is Mihaela. Notable people with these names include: Given name * Mihai Timofti (1948–2023) ...

of the

Grigore Antipa National Museum of Natural History The Grigore Antipa National Museum of Natural History () is a natural history museum, located in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. I ...

, who was a participant in the 1965 cruise on which the

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

was obtained. Băcescu gace guidance to Mihai-Bardan in the writing of her description.

Description

''Caulophryne bacescui'' is known from a single specimen which has a

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 ...

of . This speciemn was a metamorphosed, i.e. adult, female and differed from other species within ''Caulophryne'' by having no filaments on its

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

, having 46 teeth in its upper jaw, a similar number to '' C. polynema'' and by having relatively low ray counts in the

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage The fus ...

and

anal 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 o ...

s, 15 and 14 closest to '' C. pelagica''.

Distribution and habitat

''Caulophryne bacescui'' is known from a single specimen collected in the Peru Trench off the western coast of South Ameruca in 1965, it is a

benthopelagic The demersal zone is the part of the sea or ocean (or deep lake) consisting of the part of the water column near to (and significantly affected by) the seabed and the benthos. The demersal zone is just above the benthic zone and forms a layer of ...

species which lives in trenches and

abyssal The abyssal zone or abyssopelagic zone is a layer of the pelagic zone of the ocean. The word ''abyss'' comes from the Greek word (), meaning "bottomless". At depths of , this zone remains in perpetual darkness. It covers 83% of the total area o ...

habitats.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q25473124 Caulophrynidae Deep sea fish Fish described in 1982