Cusk-eel
Cusk-eel Temporal range:
| |
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Pudgy cusk-eel (Spectrunculus grandis) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Ophidiiformes |
Suborder: | Ophidioidei |
Family: | Ophidiidae Rafinesque, 1810 |
Subfamilies | |
See text |
The cusk-eel
The oldest fossil cusk-eel is Ampheristus, a highly successful genus with numerous species that existed from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) to the early Oligocene.[1][2]
Distribution
Cusk-eels lives in temperate and tropical oceans throughout the world. They live close to the sea bottom, ranging from shallow water to the
Ecology
Cusk-eels are generally very solitary in nature, but some species have been seen to associate themselves with tube worm communities.[5] Liking to be hidden when they are not foraging, they generally associate themselves within muddy bottoms, sinkholes, or larger structures that they can hide in or around, such as caves, coral crevices, or communities of bottom-dwelling invertebrates, with some parasitic species of cusk-eel actually living inside of invertebrate hosts, such as oysters, clams and sea cucumbers.[5] Cusk-eels generally feed nocturnally, preying on invertebrates, crustaceans and other small bottom-dwelling fishes.
Phylogeny
Due to the inconsistencies in specific morphological characteristics in closely related species, attempts to use different characters, such as the position of pelvic fins, to classify Ophiididae into distinct families has proven highly unsatisfactory. Overall, Ophidiidae are classified based on whether or not they practice viviparity and the structures they contain that are associated with bearing life.[5]
Characteristics
Cusk-eels are characterized by a long, slender body that is about 12–13 times as long as it is deep. The largest species,
Reproduction
Unlike their close relatives, the
Conservation status
While a few species are fished commercially – most notably the pink cusk-eel, Genypterus blacodes – and several species of the order Ophidiiformes are listed as vulnerable, not enough information has been gathered about Ophidiidae as a whole to determine their conservation status.
Genera
The cusk-eel family contains about 240 species, grouped into 50
- Genus †Ampheristus (extinct)[2]
Subfamily Brotulinae
- Genus Brotula – typical brotulas
Subfamily Brotulotaenilinae
- Genus Brotulotaenia
Subfamily Neobythitinae
- Genus Abyssobrotula
- Genus boney-eared assfish
- Genus Alcockia
- Genus Apagesoma
- Genus Barathrites
- Genus Barathrodemus
- Genus Bassogigas
- Genus Bassozetus
- Genus Bathyonus
- Genus Benthocometes
- Genus Dannevigia– Australian tusk
- Genus Dicrolene
- Genus Enchelybrotula
- Genus Epetriodus– needletooth cusk
- Genus Eretmichthys
- Genus Glyptophidium
- Genus Holcomycteronus
- Genus Homostolus– filament cusk
- Genus Hoplobrotula
- Genus Hypopleuron– whiptail cusk
- Genus Lamprogrammus
- Genus Leptobrotula
- Genus Leucicorus
- Genus Luciobrotula
- Genus Mastigopterus
- Genus Monomitopus
- Genus Neobythites
- Genus Neobythitoides
- Genus Penopus
- Genus Petrotyx
- Genus Porogadus
- Genus Pycnocraspedum
- Genus Selachophidium– Gunther's cusk-eel
- Genus Sirembo
- Genus Spectrunculus
- Genus Spottobrotula
- Genus Tauredophidium
- Genus Tenuicephalus
- Genus Typhlonus
- Genus Ventichthys– East-Pacific ventbrotula
- Genus Xyelacyba
Subfamily Ophidiinae
- Genus Cherublemma – black brotula
- Genus Chilara– spotted cusk-eel
- Genus Genypterus
- Genus Lepophidium
- Genus Menziesichthys
- Genus Ophidion
- Genus Otophidium
- Genus Parophidion
- Genus Raneya– banded cusk-eel
Gallery
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Porogadus miles (Neobythitinae)
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Otophidium omostigma (Ophidiinae)
References
- ISSN 2039-4942.
- ^ a b "PBDB". paleobiodb.org. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
- ^ ISBN 0-12-547665-5.
- ^ "What is the deepest-living fish?". Australian Museum. 23 December 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
- ^ a b c d "Ophidiiformes (Cusk-Eels and Relatives) | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
- ^ a b Bigelow, Andrew (2002). Bigelow and Schroeder's fishes of the Gulf of Maine. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press.
- ^ Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2006). "Ophidiidae" in FishBase. February 2006 version.
- ^ Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2008). "Ophidiidae" in FishBase. December 2008 version.