Lycodapus is a

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 ...

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 ...

es 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 ...

Zoarcidae The eelpouts are the ray-finned fish family (biology), family Zoarcidae. As the common name suggests, they are somewhat eel-like in appearance. All of the 300 species are ocean, marine and mostly bottom-dwelling, some at great depths. Eelpouts a ...

, the

eelpout The eelpouts are the ray-finned fish family Zoarcidae. As the common name suggests, they are somewhat eel-like in appearance. All of the 300 species are marine and mostly bottom-dwelling, some at great depths. Eelpouts are predominantly found i ...

s. The species in this genus are found in the Pacific and Southern Oceans.

Taxonomy

''Lycodapus'' 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 1890 by the American ichthyologist Charles Henry Gilbert when he described ''Lycodapus fierasfer'' from the

Gulf of California The Gulf of California (), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Vermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja California peninsula from ...

. This genus is classified within the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Lycodinae Lycodinae is a subfamily of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the Family (biology), family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. These eelpouts are found are in all the world's oceans, with a number of species being found off southern South America. Taxono ...

, one of 4 subfamilies in the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. This genus is the

sister taxon In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

to '' Bothrocara'', '' Bothrocarina'' and '' Lycogrammoides'', and these four genera form a

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

within the subfamily Lycodinae.

Etymology

''Lycodapus'' is a

compound Compound may refer to: Architecture and built environments * Compound (enclosure), a cluster of buildings having a shared purpose, usually inside a fence or wall ** Compound (fortification), a version of the above fortified with defensive struc ...

of the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

word or "

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...

", ''lykos'', a reference to the

type genus In biological taxonomy, the type genus (''genus typica'') is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name. Zoological nomenclature According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearin ...

of the Lycodinae, and ''apous'', which means "without feet", an allusion to the lack of

pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral (belly) surface of fish, and are the lower of the only two sets of paired fins (the other being the laterally positioned pectoral fins). The pelvic fins are homologous to the hi ...

s in this genus.

Species

Lycodapus contains the following species:

Characteristics

''Lycodapus'' eelpouts have bodies which vary from slender to robust, the depth varying between 3.2% to 10% 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 ...

. They may have transparent, gelatinous or opaque skin with no scales present. There are also no oral valve, occipital pores or pelvic fins. The only suborbital bone present is the lacrimal. The gill slit is not joined to the isthmus to its rear. The flesh is gelatinous. In males the front teeth in the jaw are canine like. The

pseudobranch The pseudobranch, also pseudobranchia, is the reduced first gill arch of a fish (on the inner surface of the opercle, near the junction of the preopercle) as well as a reduced "false" gill in some gastropods. In teleost fish, the pseudobranchs are ...

, vomerine and

palatine A palatine or palatinus (Latin; : ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman Empire, Roman times.

teeth are normally present. 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 ...

has between 5 and 9 rays. These are small eelpouts, some of which are mature at lengths of . The largest species is ''Lycodapus antatcticus'' which has a maximum published

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

of .

Distribution and habitat

''Lycodapus'' eelpouts are found mainly in the eastern Pacific Ocean with some species extending into the

Bering Sea The Bering Sea ( , ; rus, Бе́рингово мо́ре, r=Béringovo móre, p=ˈbʲerʲɪnɡəvə ˈmorʲe) is a marginal sea of the Northern Pacific Ocean. It forms, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between the two largest landmasse ...

and western North Pacific Oceans and others extending into the Southern Ocean. They appear to be

mesopelagic The mesopelagic zone (Greek language, Greek μέσον, middle), also known as the middle pelagic or twilight zone, is the part of the pelagic zone that lies between the photic epipelagic and the aphotic bathypelagic zones. It is defined by light ...

fishes with most specimens being collected in open nets. There is also some evidence for

diel vertical migration Diel vertical migration (DVM), also known as diurnal vertical migration, is a pattern of movement used by some organisms, such as copepods, living in the ocean and in lakes. The adjective "diel" ( IPA: , ) comes from , and refers to a 24-hour ...

which has been described for ''Lycodapus mandibularis''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2078685 Lycodinae Taxa named by Charles Henry Gilbert