''Ogcocephalus'' is a genus 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 ...
Ogcocephalidae
Ogcocephalidae is a family of anglerfish specifically adapted for a benthic lifestyle of crawling about on the seafloor. Ogcocephalid anglerfish are sometimes referred to as batfishes,[anatomist
Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...]
,
entomologist
Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...
and
palaeontologist
Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...
Gotthelf Fischer von Waldheim
Gotthelf Fischer von Waldheim (; 13 October 1771 – 18 October 1853) was a Saxon anatomist, entomologist and paleontologist.
Fischer was born as Gotthilf Fischer in Waldheim, Saxony, the son of a linen weaver. He studied medicine at Leipz ...
.
[ ''Lophius vespertilio'', which was described by ]Carl Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...
in the 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'' published in 1758, is designated as the type species
In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...
, probably designated by David Starr Jordan
David Starr Jordan (January 19, 1851 – September 19, 1931) was the founding president of Stanford University, serving from 1891 to 1913. He was an ichthyologist during his research career. Prior to serving as president of Stanford Universi ...
and Barton Warren Evermann
Barton Warren Evermann (October 24, 1853 – September 27, 1932) was an American ichthyologist.
Early life and education
Evermann was born in Monroe County, Iowa in 1853. His family moved to Indiana while he was still a child and it was ...
in 1896.monotypic
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 "unisp ...
suborder
Order () is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and recognized ...
Ogcocephaloidei
Ogcocephalidae is a family of anglerfish specifically adapted for a benthic lifestyle of crawling about on the seafloor. Ogcocephalid anglerfish are sometimes referred to as batfishes,[order
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
...]
Lophiiformes, the anglerfishes in 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 ...
''.
Etymology
''Ogcocephalus'' is a combination of ''ogkos'', which means "hook", and ''cephalus'', meaning "head", an allusion to the pointed rostrum on the snout of the type species.
Species
There are currently 13 recognized species in this genus:Valenciennes
Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France.
It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...
, 1837 (Oval batfish)
* '' Ogcocephalus pantostictus'' Bradbury, 1980 (Spotted batfish)
* '' Ogcocephalus parvus'' Longley & Hildebrand
Hildebrand is a character from Germanic heroic legend. ''Hildebrand'' is the modern German form of the name: in Old High German it is ''Hiltibrant'' and in Old Norse ''Hildibrandr''. The word ''hild'' means "battle" and ''brand'' means "sword" ...
, 1940 (Roughback batfish)
* '' Ogcocephalus porrectus'' Garman Garman is a surname or first name. Notable people with the name include:
Sports
* Ann Garman, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player
* Judi Garman (born 1954), American softball coach
* Mike Garman (born 1949), American baseball pla ...
, 1899 (Rosy-lipped batfish)
* '' Ogcocephalus pumilus'' Bradbury, 1980 (Dwarf batfish)
* '' Ogcocephalus radiatus'' Mitchill, 1818 (Polka-dot batfish)
* '' Ogcocephalus rostellum'' Bradbury, 1980 (Palefin batfish)
* ''Ogcocephalus vespertilio
''Ogcocephalus vespertilio'', the Brazilian batfish or seadevil, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ogcocephalidae, the deep sea batfishes. This species is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean. The Brazilian batfish is ...
'' (Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...
, 1758
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the starting point of modern zoologic ...
) (Brazilian batfish, Seadevil)
Characteristics
''Ogcocephalus'' batfishes are characterised by having a flattened head, although this is raised above the disc of the body which is triangular in shape.[ The flattened head and body of these fishes is often referred to as the "disc" and is made up of the head and the body as far as the axilla of the pelvic fins, the forward edge of the disc is made up of the extended bones of the operculum sweeping backwards from the cranium and surrounding the trunk on either side.][ The horn-like rostrum on the snout varies from short to long and projects far beyond the eyes. The ]esca Esca can refer to:
* The esca or illicium, a modified luminescent fin ray found in anglerfish
* Esca (grape disease)
* the Ezka, a river in the Basque country known as "Esca" in Spanish
* ESCA or Electron Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis, now ...
has 3 fleshy points and is kept on a small illivial cavity us small and is located under the rostrum. There is a spine at the angle of the operculum which is blunt or small, or to may be large but has no spinules. The gill raker
Gill rakers in fish are bony or cartilaginous processes that project from the branchial arch (gill arch) and are involved with suspension feeding tiny prey. They are not to be confused with the gill filaments that compose the fleshy part of th ...
s are oval-shaped plates with a covering of small teeth. The eyes are on the sides of the head. The gill openings are small and are located to the rear of the upper bases of 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 ...
. The pectoral and 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 are resemble limbs and the pectoral fins are wholly separate from body. Thee small 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 are covered in skin and are located on the upper and lower surfaces of the tail. The dorsal surface of the body has scales that resemble large buckler
A buckler (French ''bouclier'' 'shield', from Old French ''bocle, boucle'' ' boss') is a small shield, up to 45 cm (up to 18 in) in diameter, gripped in the fist with a central handle behind the boss. It became more common as a companio ...
s and conical spines. The ventral surface of the body is wholly covered in pointed, bony scales while the ventral surface of the tail has a dense covering of small spines, sometimes with a small number of conical spines along its midline.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 while the largest is the seadevil (''O. vespertilio'') with a standard length of .[
]
Distribution and habitat
''Ogcocephalus'' batfishes are found in the tropical and temperate seas of the Americas with 2 species in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and 11 in the Western Atlantic Ocean.[ In the Atlantic Ocean the fishes in this genus occur from ]Cape Hatteras
Cape Hatteras is a cape located at a pronounced bend in Hatteras Island, one of the barrier islands of North Carolina.
As a temperate barrier island, the landscape has been shaped by wind, waves, and storms. There are long stretches of beach ...
south as far as Uruguay. Thys are found in shallower waters than other genera in the family Ogcocephalidae with most specimens taken at depths of less than , a few at depths up to and. exceptionally, from depths greater than .
See also
* List of prehistoric bony fish
This list of prehistoric bony fish is an attempt to create a comprehensive listing of all Genus, genera from the fossil record that have ever been considered to be bony fish (class Osteichthyes), excluding purely vernacular terms. The list includ ...
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1223348
Ogcocephalidae
Marine fish genera
Taxa named by Gotthelf Fischer von Waldheim