Sabertooth fish
| Sabertooth fishes | |
|---|---|
| |
| Coccorella atrata | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Aulopiformes |
| Family: | Evermannellidae Fowler, 1901 |
| Genera | |
Sabertooth or sabretooth fish are small, fierce-looking deep-sea
These fishes are named for their oversized, recurved
Description
Sabertooth fishes have moderately elongated and compressed bodies which lack normal scales. The head is large and blunt; the terminal mouth is large and lined with slender palatine teeth, and the front is mostly enlarged and is curved inward slightly. A number of shorter, straighter teeth accompany these fang-like teeth. The tongue is toothless.
The
Similarly, in O. normalops, the horizontal diameter of the eye is significantly smaller than the width of the orbit, whereas in C. atlantica, the diameter of the eye is approximately equal to the interorbital width. In the case of E. balbo and E. melanoderma, the horizontal diameter of the eye is notably wider than the interorbital width. These observations suggest that there exist significant variations in the proportional dimensions of the eyes and orbits among different species of organisms, which may be indicative of distinct anatomical and functional adaptations.[1]
The
The different families have 44–54 vertebrae, with three discrete bands of muscle tissue (epaxial, mid-lateral, and hypaxial) present in the caudal region. Sabertooths do not have swim bladders, and the stomach is highly distensible.
Evermannella are aulopiforms that have fusiform body structures, resulting in the fish being more deep anteriorly. This is in contrast to the elongated bodies of most other aulopiforms.[2]
Sabertooth fish are usually a drab, light to dark brown when preserved; however, a brassy green iridescence is seen on the flanks, cheeks, and ocular region of well-preserved specimens. The naked skin is easily torn. The Atlantic sabertooth (Coccorella Atlantica) is the largest species, at up to 18.5 cm standard length.
Life history
Almost nothing is known of the biology and ecology of evermannellids. They are active, visual
Their distensible stomachs allow sabertooth fishes to swallow prey larger than themselves; their recurved teeth likely function in a manner similar to a snake's, preventing a captured fish from backing out and helping to guide the fish down the sabertooth's pharynx. Sabertooth fishes are solitary animals; it is not known whether they undergo diel vertical migrations.
Their
See also
References
- ^ ISSN 0175-8659.
- ^ a b Maile, A. J., May, Z. A., DeArmon, E. S., Martin, R. P., & Davis, M. P. (2020). Marine habitat transitions and body-shape evolution in lizardfishes and their allies (Aulopiformes). Copeia, 108(4), 820-832.
- ^ S2CID 24625806.
- ^ S2CID 253978667.
- ^ Nelson, Joseph S., et al. Fishes of the World. Wiley, 2016
Sources
- Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2012). "Evermannellidae" in FishBase. April 2012 version.
- Fishes: An introduction to ichthyology. Peter B. Moyle and Joseph J. Cech, Jr; p. 336. Printed in 2004. Prentice-Hall, Inc; Upper Saddle River, NJ. ISBN 0-13-100847-1
- Arronte, J. C.; Bañón, R.; Sánchez, F.; Serrano, A. (2012-03-05). "On the occurrence of Odontostomops normalops (Aulopiformes: Evermannellidae) in the Bay of Biscay (north-eastern Atlantic)". Journal of Applied Ichthyology. 28 (4): 649–651. ISSN0175-8659.
- Maile, A. J., May, Z. A., DeArmon, E. S., Martin, R. P., & Davis, M. P. (2020). Marine habitat transitions and body-shape evolution in lizardfishes and their allies (Aulopiformes). Copeia, 108(4), 820-832.
- Wagner, H. -J.; Fröhlich, E.; Negishi, K.; Collin, S. P. (1998-10-01). "The eyes of deep-sea fish II. Functional morphology of the retina". Progress in Retinal and Eye Research. 17 (4): 637–685. ISSN1350-9462.
- Nelson, Joseph S., et al. Fishes of the World. Wiley, 2016