The footballfish form a family, Himantolophidae, of globose, deep-seaanglerfishes found in tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Ocean. The family contains 23 species, all of which reside in a single genus, Himantolophus (from the Greekimantos, "thong, strap", and lophos, "crest").
As in most other deep-sea anglerfish families, sexual dimorphism is extreme: the largest females may exceed lengths of 60 centimetres (24 inches) and are globose in shape, whereas males do not exceed 4 cm (1+1⁄2 in) as adults and are comparatively fusiform. Their flesh is gelatinous, but thickens in the larger females, which also possess a covering of "bucklers" — round, bony plates each with a median spine — that are absent in males. Both are a reddish brown to black in life.
In females, the mouth is large and oblique. The subequal jaws are anteriorly lined with rows of numerous close-set, depressible, and retrorse teeth; vomerine teeth are absent. Footballfish females differ from those of other ceratioid families by their shortened, blunt snout; along with the chin, it is covered in sensory papillae. Originating above or slightly in advance of the small eye is an illicium (the "fishing rod") and at its end a bioluminescent, bulbous esca (the "fishing lure", its light owing to symbioticbacteria). Escal morphology varies between species, and it may or may not possess denticles or accessory appendages, the latter either branched or unbranched. The pterygiophore of the illicium does not protrude from the snout, and there is no hyoidbarbel.
At maturity, the streamlined males have an enlarged posterior nostril (with 10–17 lamellae); slightly ovoid eye with an enlarged pupil creating a narrow anterior aphakic space; no ilicium or esca; and the head and body is covered in dermal spinules, those along the snout midline being enlarged. The jaw lacks teeth, whereas those of the denticular bone have fused into a larger mass; the upper denticular bone possesses 10–17 hooked denticles.
The footballfish was first discovered in 1837 by Johan Reinhardt. Their poor musculature and cumbersome morphology indicate that mature female footballfish are probably poor swimmers and largely sedentary, lie-in-wait predators. They are primarily mesopelagic, living in open water, with very few caught below 1,000 metres (3,300 feet; 550 fathoms). Females are carnivorous and feed upon other pelagic fish (such as lanternfishes and ridgeheads) and cephalopods, as well as shrimp and euphausiids that are presumably attracted to within striking distance by the footballfish's luminous lure.[citation needed]
Himantolophidae are one of the families of angler fish that do NOT use sexual parasitism[1].
Footballfish are presumed to be non-guarders that spawnpelagically. Their larvae are epipelagic (occurring in the well-lit 200 m of the water column), indicating they probably undergo an ontogenetic descent into deeper waters as the larvae mature. Predators of footballfish include sperm whales and other footballfish.[citation needed]
Speciesedit
There are currently 23 recognized species in this genus:[1]
Jordan Mendoza (12 May 2021). "Beachgoer discovers rare terrifying 'football fish' on Southern California shore". USA Today.
Mike Schaadt. "Creature Feature: Football Fish". Cabrillo Marine Aquarium.
Galleryedit
Referencesedit
^Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2014). Species of Himantolophus in FishBase. August 2014 version.
^Stewart, A.L.; Pietsch, T.W. (2010). "A new species of deep-sea anglerfish, genus Himantolophus (Lophiiformes: Himantolophidae) from the Western South Pacific, with comments on the validity of H. pseudalbinares" (PDF). Zootaxa. 2671: 53–60.
Anderson, M. Eric and Leslie, Robin W. (2001). "Review of the deep-sea anglerfishes (Lophiiformes: Ceratioidei) of southern Africa". Ichthyological Bulletin. J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology, Rhodes University. ISSN 0073-4381. Retrieved October 31, 2005.
Munk, Ole. (1999). "The escal photophore of ceratioids (Pisces; Ceratioidei) — a review of structure and function". Acta Zoologica, Vol 80., Issue 4, pp. 265–284. Retrieved October 31, 2005.
footballfish, footballfish, form, family, himantolophidae, globose, deep, anglerfishes, found, tropical, subtropical, waters, atlantic, indian, pacific, ocean, family, contains, species, which, reside, single, genus, himantolophus, from, greek, imantos, thong,. The footballfish form a family Himantolophidae of globose deep sea anglerfishes found in tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic Indian and Pacific Ocean The family contains 23 species all of which reside in a single genus Himantolophus from the Greek imantos thong strap and lophos crest FootballfishHimantolophus groenlandicusScientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataClass ActinopterygiiOrder LophiiformesSuborder CeratioideiFamily HimantolophidaeGill 1861Genus HimantolophusJ C H Reinhardt 1837SpeciesSee text Contents 1 Description 2 Life history 3 Species 4 Further reading 5 Gallery 6 ReferencesDescription editAs in most other deep sea anglerfish families sexual dimorphism is extreme the largest females may exceed lengths of 60 centimetres 24 inches and are globose in shape whereas males do not exceed 4 cm 1 1 2 in as adults and are comparatively fusiform Their flesh is gelatinous but thickens in the larger females which also possess a covering of bucklers round bony plates each with a median spine that are absent in males Both are a reddish brown to black in life In females the mouth is large and oblique The subequal jaws are anteriorly lined with rows of numerous close set depressible and retrorse teeth vomerine teeth are absent Footballfish females differ from those of other ceratioid families by their shortened blunt snout along with the chin it is covered in sensory papillae Originating above or slightly in advance of the small eye is an illicium the fishing rod and at its end a bioluminescent bulbous esca the fishing lure its light owing to symbiotic bacteria Escal morphology varies between species and it may or may not possess denticles or accessory appendages the latter either branched or unbranched The pterygiophore of the illicium does not protrude from the snout and there is no hyoid barbel At maturity the streamlined males have an enlarged posterior nostril with 10 17 lamellae slightly ovoid eye with an enlarged pupil creating a narrow anterior aphakic space no ilicium or esca and the head and body is covered in dermal spinules those along the snout midline being enlarged The jaw lacks teeth whereas those of the denticular bone have fused into a larger mass the upper denticular bone possesses 10 17 hooked denticles In both sexes the fins are spineless the single dorsal fin with 5 6 soft rays the pectoral fins with 14 18 the anal fin with four and the caudal fin with 19 There are six branchiostegal rays and 19 vertebrae the parietal is lacking throughout life there are no epurals and the pelvic bone is triradiate Life history editThe footballfish was first discovered in 1837 by Johan Reinhardt Their poor musculature and cumbersome morphology indicate that mature female footballfish are probably poor swimmers and largely sedentary lie in wait predators They are primarily mesopelagic living in open water with very few caught below 1 000 metres 3 300 feet 550 fathoms Females are carnivorous and feed upon other pelagic fish such as lanternfishes and ridgeheads and cephalopods as well as shrimp and euphausiids that are presumably attracted to within striking distance by the footballfish s luminous lure citation needed Himantolophidae are one of the families of angler fish that do NOT use sexual parasitism 1 Footballfish are presumed to be non guarders that spawn pelagically Their larvae are epipelagic occurring in the well lit 200 m of the water column indicating they probably undergo an ontogenetic descent into deeper waters as the larvae mature Predators of footballfish include sperm whales and other footballfish citation needed Species editThere are currently 23 recognized species in this genus 1 Himantolophus albinares Maul 1961 Himantolophus appelii F E Clarke 1878 Prickly anglerfish Himantolophus azurlucens Beebe amp Crane 1947 Himantolophus borealis Kharin 1984 Himantolophus brevirostris Regan 1925 Himantolophus compressus Osorio 1912 Himantolophus cornifer Bertelsen amp G Krefft 1988 Himantolophus crinitus Bertelsen amp G Krefft 1988 Himantolophus danae Regan amp Trewavas 1932 Himantolophus groenlandicus Johan Reinhardt Robert Football 1837 Atlantic footballfish Himantolophus kalami Rajeeshjumar Pietsch amp Saravanane 2022 Himantolophus litoceras A L Stewart amp Pietsch 2010 2 Himantolophus macroceras Bertelsen amp G Krefft 1988 Himantolophus macroceratoides Bertelsen amp G Krefft 1988 Himantolophus mauli Bertelsen amp G Krefft 1988 Himantolophus melanolophus Bertelsen amp G Krefft 1988 Himantolophus multifurcatus Bertelsen amp G Krefft 1988 Himantolophus nigricornis Bertelsen amp G Krefft 1988 Himantolophus paucifilosus Bertelsen amp G Krefft 1988 Himantolophus pseudalbinares Bertelsen amp G Krefft 1988 Himantolophus rostratus Regan 1925 Himantolophus sagamius S Tanaka I 1918 Pacific footballfish Himantolophus stewarti Pietsch amp Kenaley 2011Further reading editJordan Mendoza 12 May 2021 Beachgoer discovers rare terrifying football fish on Southern California shore USA Today Mike Schaadt Creature Feature Football Fish Cabrillo Marine Aquarium Gallery edit nbsp nbsp nbsp References edit Froese Rainer and Pauly Daniel eds 2014 Species of Himantolophus in FishBase August 2014 version Stewart A L Pietsch T W 2010 A new species of deep sea anglerfish genus Himantolophus Lophiiformes Himantolophidae from the Western South Pacific with comments on the validity of H pseudalbinares PDF Zootaxa 2671 53 60 Anderson M Eric and Leslie Robin W 2001 Review of the deep sea anglerfishes Lophiiformes Ceratioidei of southern Africa Ichthyological Bulletin J L B Smith Institute of Ichthyology Rhodes University ISSN 0073 4381 Retrieved October 31 2005 Munk Ole 1999 The escal photophore of ceratioids Pisces Ceratioidei a review of structure and function Acta Zoologica Vol 80 Issue 4 pp 265 284 Retrieved October 31 2005 https www jstor org stable 1443462 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Footballfish amp oldid 1186114321, 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