The velvet whalefish (Barbourisia rufa) is a deep-sea whalefish, the sole known member of its family Barbourisiidae. It is found throughout the tropical and temperate parts of the world's oceans, mainly in the Pacific near Japan and New Zealand, at depths of 300–2,000 m. This species seems very closely related to some flabby whalefish and it was initially believed to belong to that family by some.[2] They have been found from 65°N–40°S in the Atlantic, 50°N–50°S in the Pacific, and 5–20°S in the Indian Ocean.[3]
Like other whalefish, it has a generally whale-shaped body, small pectoral and pelvic fins, and dorsal and anal fins set far back. Body and fins are covered with tiny spicules, resulting in a velvety feel that inspires the name. Colour is an overall vivid geranium red or dark orange. The mouth is large, extending well behind the eyes, has a white interior, and the lower jaw projects beyond the upper jaw. The largest recorded specimen was 34.5 cm; another fairly large specimen weighed 456 g.
Little is known of their habits, but they are believed to feed on crustaceans. The larvae metamorphose into the adult form at about 7 mm standard length. Larvae and immatures inhabit the upper water layers, down to some dozen metres; larvae before notochord flexion/metamorphosis in particular can sometimes be found right at the surface. As opposed to adults, they still have a small swim bladder.[3]
Young whalefish make nightly vertical migrations into the lower mesopelagic zone to feed on copepods. When males make the transition to adults, they develop a massive liver, and then their jaws fuse shut. They no longer eat, but continue to metabolise the energy stored in their liver.[4]
Footnotesedit
Referencesedit
^ abParr, A.E. (1945). "Barbourisidae, a new family of deep sea fishes". Copeia. 1945 (3): 127–129. doi:10.2307/1438273.
^ Myers, George S. (1946). "On a recently proposed new family of deep-sea fishes (Barbourisiidae, Parr, 1945)". Copeia. 1946 (1): 41–42. doi:10.2307/1438820.
^ ab Paxton, John R.; Johnson, G. David; Trnski, Thomas (2001). (PDF). Records of the Australian Museum. 53 (3): 407–425. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2003-09-26.
^ Schmid, Randolph E. (23 January 2009). "Scientists solve mystery: 3 fish are all the same". Science News. NBC News. Associated Press. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2012). "Barbourisia rufa" in FishBase. August 2012 version.
January 01, 1970
velvet, whalefish, velvet, whalefish, barbourisia, rufa, deep, whalefish, sole, known, member, family, barbourisiidae, found, throughout, tropical, temperate, parts, world, oceans, mainly, pacific, near, japan, zealand, depths, this, species, seems, very, clos. The velvet whalefish Barbourisia rufa is a deep sea whalefish the sole known member of its family Barbourisiidae It is found throughout the tropical and temperate parts of the world s oceans mainly in the Pacific near Japan and New Zealand at depths of 300 2 000 m This species seems very closely related to some flabby whalefish and it was initially believed to belong to that family by some 2 They have been found from 65 N 40 S in the Atlantic 50 N 50 S in the Pacific and 5 20 S in the Indian Ocean 3 Velvet whalefish Scientific classification Domain Eukaryota Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Class Actinopterygii Order Cetomimiformes Family BarbourisiidaeA E Parr 1945 Genus BarbourisiaA E Parr 1945 Species B rufa Binomial name Barbourisia rufaA E Parr 1945 1 Synonyms Family level Barbourisidae A E Parr 1945 lapsus 1 Like other whalefish it has a generally whale shaped body small pectoral and pelvic fins and dorsal and anal fins set far back Body and fins are covered with tiny spicules resulting in a velvety feel that inspires the name Colour is an overall vivid geranium red or dark orange The mouth is large extending well behind the eyes has a white interior and the lower jaw projects beyond the upper jaw The largest recorded specimen was 34 5 cm another fairly large specimen weighed 456 g Little is known of their habits but they are believed to feed on crustaceans The larvae metamorphose into the adult form at about 7 mm standard length Larvae and immatures inhabit the upper water layers down to some dozen metres larvae before notochord flexion metamorphosis in particular can sometimes be found right at the surface As opposed to adults they still have a small swim bladder 3 Young whalefish make nightly vertical migrations into the lower mesopelagic zone to feed on copepods When males make the transition to adults they develop a massive liver and then their jaws fuse shut They no longer eat but continue to metabolise the energy stored in their liver 4 Footnotes editReferences edit a b Parr A E 1945 Barbourisidae a new family of deep sea fishes Copeia 1945 3 127 129 doi 10 2307 1438273 Myers George S 1946 On a recently proposed new family of deep sea fishes Barbourisiidae Parr 1945 Copeia 1946 1 41 42 doi 10 2307 1438820 a b Paxton John R Johnson G David Trnski Thomas 2001 Larvae and juveniles of the deepsea whalefishes Barbourisia and Rondeletia Stephanoberyciformes Barbourisiidae Rondeletiidae with comments on family relationships PDF Records of the Australian Museum 53 3 407 425 Archived from the original PDF on 2003 09 26 Schmid Randolph E 23 January 2009 Scientists solve mystery 3 fish are all the same Science News NBC News Associated Press Retrieved 10 September 2022 External links edit Barbourisia rufa Integrated Taxonomic Information System Retrieved 18 April 2006 Froese Rainer Pauly Daniel eds 2012 Barbourisia rufa in FishBase August 2012 version Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Velvet whalefish amp oldid 1110996680, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
