''Acanthonus hextii'' is a species of

cusk-eel The cusk-eel family, Ophidiidae, is a group of marine bony fishes in the Ophidiiformes order. The scientific name is from the Greek ''ophis'' meaning "snake", and refers to their eel-like appearance. True eels diverged from other ray-finned fi ...

found in the

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

and 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 ...

s. It occurs at depths of from . This species grows to a length of SL. It is sometimes classified as a

monotypic 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 ...

''Tauredophidium''.

Etymology

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 Rear-Admiral

John Hext Rear-Admiral Sir John Hext (14 October 1842 – 8 May 1924) was a British Royal Navy officer and director of the Royal Indian Marine for 15 years. Early career Hext was born on 14 October 1842 the eldest son of the Reverend J.H. Hext, who ...

(1842-1924) who was commander of the

Royal Indian Marine Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, ...

who supported the expedition in board the ''R.I.M.S. Investigator'' in the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...

which collected the

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wikt:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to ancho ...

. Only one larval specimen has been identified and was similar in overall form to the related

bony-eared assfish The bony-eared assfish (''Acanthonus armatus'') is a bathypelagic species of cusk-eel found in tropical and sub-tropical oceans at depths of from . It has been found as far north as Queen Charlotte Sound off British Columbia's coast. This species ...

and

gargoyle cusk The gargoyle cusk (''Acanthonus myersi'') is a species of cusk-eel from the subfamily Neobythitinae of the Family (biology), family Ophidiidae. This species grows to a length of fish measurement, TL. It is sometimes classified in the monotypic ...

, with multiple elongate pectoral-fin rays

References

Ophidiidae Taxa named by Alfred William Alcock Fish described in 1890 {{Ophidiidae-stub