Ceratias

Genus of fishes

Ceratias

Kroyer's Deep-sea Angler Fish (C. holboelli)
Stargazing Seadevil (C. uranoscopus)
Scientific classification
Domain:  | Eukaryota
Kingdom:  | Animalia
Phylum:  | Chordata
Class:  | Actinopterygii
Order:  | Lophiiformes
Family:  | Ceratiidae
Genus:  | Ceratias
Krøyer, 1845
Type species
Ceratias holboelli

Krøyer, 1845

Synonyms

* Mancalias Gill, 1878
* Miopsaras Gilbert, 1905
* Parrichthys Barbour, 1942
* Reganichthys Bigelow & Barbour, 1944
* Reganula Bigelow & Barbour, 1944
* Typlopsaras Gill, 1883
* Miopsaras myops Gilbert, 1905 (nomen dubium)[1]
* Typhloceratias firthi Barbour, 1942b(nomen dubium)[1]
* Parrichthys merrimani Barbour, 1942b (nomen dubium)[1]

Ceratias is a genus of marine ray-finned fish sometimes referred to as the doublewart- or giant seadevils,[1] belonging to the family Ceratiidae, the warty sea devils. The fishes in this genus are found throughout the world's oceans.

## Taxonomy

[edit]

Ceratias was first proposed as a monospecific genus in 1845 by the Danish zoologist Henrik Nikolai Krøyer when he described Ceratias holboelli.[2] The type locality of C. holboelli was given as Southern Greenland.[3] The 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies this genus in the family Ceratiidae within the suborder Ceratioidei of the anglerfish order Lophiiformes.[4] Within the Ceratioidei this family is a sister taxon to the Centrophrynidae.[5]

## Etymology

[edit]

Ceratias means "horn bearer", an allusion to the esca sticking up from the snout.[6]

## Species

[edit]

There are currently three recognized species in this genus:[7]

* Ceratias holboelli Krøyer, 1845 (Krøyer's deep sea angler fish)
* Ceratias tentaculatus Norman, 1930 (southern seadevil)
* Ceratias uranoscopus J. Murray, 1877 (stargazing seadevil)

## Characteristics

[edit]

Ceratias warty seadevils have metamorphosed females that are distinguished from those of the triplewart seadevil, the only member of the other Ceratiid genus Cryptopsaras, in having a long illicium. The illicium is twice as long as the bulb of the esca. They also have two modified first dorsal fin rays, or caruncles on the midline of the back immediately in front of the main fin. There is also no anterior spine in the suboperculum. In the males of this genus the upper and lower pairs of denticular teeth are almost the same size. The larvae, males and the juvenile females do not have any pigment in the subdermal layer.[8] The largest species in the genus is Krøyer's deep sea angler fish which has a maximum published total length of 120 cm (47 in).[7][1]

## Distribution and habitat

[edit]

Ceratias wart sea devils are found throughout the world's oceans at depths from the surface to 4,400 m (14,400 ft).[9][10] Only adults appear in colder polar waters.[10]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e Pietsch, Theodore W. (2009). Oceanic anglerfishes: extraordinary diversity in the deep sea. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 323–328\. ISBN 978-0-520-94255-4. OCLC 1298208235.
2. ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Ceratiidae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
3. ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Ceratias". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
4. ^ Nelson, J.S.; Grande, T.C.; Wilson, M.V.H. (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 508–518\. doi:10.1002/9781119174844. ISBN 978-1-118-34233-6. LCCN 2015037522. OCLC 951899884. OL 25909650M.
5. ^ Theodore W. Pietsch and James Wilder Orr (2007). "Phylogenetic Relationships of Deep-Sea Anglerfishes of the Suborder Ceratioidei (Teleostei: Lophiiformes) Based on Morphology". Copeia. 2007 (1): 1–34\. doi:10.1643/0045-8511(2007)7[1:PRODAO]2.0.CO;2. JSTOR 4126495.
6. ^ Christopher Scharpf (3 June 2024). "Order LOPHIIFORMES (part 2): Families CAULOPHRYNIDAE, NEOCERATIIDAE, MELANOCETIDAE, HIMANTOLOPHIDAE, DICERATIIDAE, ONEIRODIDAE, THAUMATICHTHYIDAE, CENTROPHRYNIDAE, CERATIIDAE, GIGANTACTINIDAE and LINOPHRYNIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
7. ^ a b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Ceratias". FishBase. June 2024 version.
8. ^ Theodore W. Pietsch (1986). "Systematics and Distribution of Bathypelagic Anglerfishes of the Family Ceratiidae (Order: Lophiiformes)". Copeia. 1986 (2): 479–493\. doi:10.2307/1445006. JSTOR 1445006.
9. ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Ceratias uranoscopus". FishBase. June 2024 version.
10. ^ a b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Ceratias holboelli". FishBase. June 2024 version.

Taxon identifiers

Ceratias|

* Wikidata: Q3243731
* Wikispecies: Ceratias
* AFD: Ceratias
* BOLD: 3937
* CoL: 3KPQ
* GBIF: 2414406
* iNaturalist: 64219
* ITIS: 164654
* NBN: NHMSYS0021053353
* NCBI: 206107
* NZOR: 799255f0-a336-4053-8a9f-648dc7ed1590
* Open Tree of Life: 60125
* WoRMS: 125794