The gaper (''Champsodon capensis'') is a species of crocodile toothfish 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 ...

Champsodontidae. It is found in the Indian Ocean along the coast of East Africa, from Kenya to South Africa, as well as off the islands of Seychelles and Mauritius. This species has entered the Mediterranean Sea, most likely as a Lessepsian migrant, through the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

, being first recorded in 2012. Gapers are typically found in large shoals, which move from deep water to the surface at night.

References

Champsodon Fish described in 1908 {{Acropomatiformes-stub