Chaunacops
| Chaunacops | |
|---|---|
| |
| Chaunacops coloratus at the Davidson Seamount | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Lophiiformes |
| Family: | Chaunacidae |
| Genus: | Chaunacops Garman, 1899 |
Chaunacops is a genus of lophiiform fish (anglerfish) in the family Chaunacidae. They are characterized as having globose heads, open sensory and lateral line canals, and loose skin covered by small spine-like scales. Colour, which has been noted as an important distinguishing characteristic, has generally been described as pink, reddish orange, or rose.[1][2] However, Lundsten et al. suggests that juvenile Chaunacops coloratus may be blue and only adults are red or rose coloured.[3]
Chaunacops coloratus was first described in 1899 from a dead specimen collected during the US Albatross Expedition of 1891 at the Cocos Ridge collecting station. It is a deep-sea species of the order Lophiiformes (anglerfishes). This species is benthic, living at reported depths from 1789 to 3297 m in the east Indian and eastern Pacific oceans. It was first filmed alive at the seafloor at Davidson and Taney Seamounts in the northeast Pacific Ocean by scientists from Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), California, US, using a remote-controlled vehicle. As with all members of the Lophiiformes, these fish use lures to attract prey.
Distribution and habitat[edit]
Many specimens of Chaunacops are being collected from Eastern and Western Australia. A paper published in 2015 stated that a newly identified species in genus Chaunacops was found off the coasts of Australia and New Caledonia.[4]
Chaunacops are typically found at deeper depths than Chaunax, but with considerable overlap between the two genera. Chaunacops coloratus are also often found near "manganese-encrusted volcanic talus slopes".[3]
Species[edit]
There are currently 4 recognized species in this genus:[5]
- Chaunacops coloratus Garman, 1899
- Chaunacops melanostomus J. H. Caruso, 1989 (Tadpole coffinfish)
- Chaunacops roseus T. Barbour, 1941
- Chaunacops spinosus H.-C. Ho & McGrouther, 2015 (Eastern tadpole coffinfish)[4]
References[edit]
- ^ Garman, S (1899). "Reports on an exploration off the west coasts of Mexico, Central and South America, and off the Galapagos Islands, in charge of Alexander Agassiz, by the U.S. Fish Commission Steamer Albatross, during 1891, Lieut. Commander Z.L. Tanner, U.S.N., commanding. 26. The fishes". Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy, at Harvard College, Cambridge, Mass. 24: 1–431. doi:10.5962/bhl.part.27494. ISSN 1067-8611.
- ^ Caruso, Johnh H. (1989-11-01). "A Review of the Indo-Pacific Members of the Deep-Water Chaunacid Anglerfish Genus Bathychaunax, with the Description of a New Species from the Eastern Indian Ocean (Pisces: Lophiiformes)". Bulletin of Marine Science. 45 (3): 574–579.
- ^ a b Lundsten, Lonny; Johnson, Shannon B.; Cailliet, Gregor M.; DeVogelaere, Andrew P.; Clague, David A. (2012-10-01). "Morphological, molecular, and in situ behavioral observations of the rare deep-sea anglerfish Chaunacops coloratus (Garman, 1899), order Lophiiformes, in the eastern North Pacific". Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers. 68: 46–53. Bibcode:2012DSRI...68...46L. doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2012.05.012. ISSN 0967-0637.
- ^ a b Ho, H.-C.; McGrouther, M. (2015). "A new anglerfish from eastern Australia and New Caledonia (Lophiiformes: Chaunacidae: Chaunacops ), with new data and submersible observation of Chaunacops melanostomus". Journal of Fish Biology. 86 (3): 940–951. Bibcode:2015JFBio..86..940H. doi:10.1111/jfb.12607. ISSN 0022-1112. PMID 25683184.
- ^ Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2017). Species of Chaunacops in FishBase. July 2017 version.
External links[edit]
- Mbari.org
- BBC.co.uk Archived 2018-07-15 at the Wayback Machine
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