Malthopsis bradburyae, Bradbury's triangular batfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ogcocephalidae, the deep-sea batfishes. This little known species is found in the western Indian Ocean off Tanzania and is named in honour of the American ichthyologist Margaret G. Bradbury.
| Malthopsis bradburyae | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Lophiiformes |
| Family: | Ogcocephalidae |
| Genus: | Malthopsis |
| Species: | M. bradburyae
|
| Binomial name | |
| Malthopsis bradburyae H.-C. Ho, 2013
| |
Taxonomy
editMalthopsis bradburyae was first formally described in 2013 by the Taiwanese ichthyologist Hans, Hsuan-Ching Ho with its type biology given as the western Indian Ocean off Tanzania at 22°06'51"S, 39°54'E, from a depth of 100 m (330 ft).[2] This species is a member of the M. annulifera species complex.[1] The genus Malthopsis is the most basal genus of the "Indo-Pacific clade" of the family Ogcocephalidae.[3] The family Ogcocephalidae is classified in the monotypic suborder Ogcocephaloidei within the order Lophiiformes, the anglerfishes in the 5th edition of Fishes of the World.[4]
Etymology
editMalthopsis bradburyae has the genus name Malthopsis which suffixes opsis, meaning "resembles", onto Malthe, a synonym of Ogcocephalus, although this genus has two gills on either side. The specific name, bradburyae, honours the American ichthyologist Margaret G. Bradbury of San Francisco State University, in recognition of her contribution to the study of Ogcocephalid batfishes, and for her friendship with Ho.[5]
Description
editMalthopsis bradburyae has the dorsal fin supported by 5 or 6 soft rays while the anal fin is supported by 3 or 4 soft rays. The body is a flattened disc with the head higher than the disc. The rostrum is relatively long and pointed, pointing forward and not upwards. The eyes are small with a wide space between them with a deep groove. The upper surface is covered in scales that resemble bucklers and many spines. The lower body's surface is densely covered in small spines and small buckler-like scales. The scales on the breast are quite large. The buckler on the subopercle is blunt with no strong spines. The anal fin almost extends as far as the caudal fin when fully lowered. The colour of the preserved specimens is a plain creamy yellowish with some thin reticulated lines on the shoulder.[6] This species attains a maximum published standard length of 7.2 cm (2.8 in),[7]
Distribution and habitat
editMalthopsis bradburyae is known from eight specimens collected in the Western Indian Ocean off the coast of Tanzania from the upper Continental shelf at a depth of around 100 m (330 ft).[6]
References
edit- ^ a b Ho, H. (2020). "Malthopsis bradburyae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T140346348A140859662. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T140346348A140859662.en. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Malthopsis". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ Valerie Derouen; William B. Ludt; Hsuan-Ching Ho; Prosanta Chakrabarty (2015). "Examining evolutionary relationships and shifts in depth preferences in batfishes (Lophiiformes: Ogcocephalidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 84: 27–33. Bibcode:2015MolPE..84...27D. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2014.12.011. PMID 25554525.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Christopher Scharpf (3 June 2024). "Order LOPHIIFORMES (part 1): Families LOPHIIDAE, ANTENNARIIDAE, TETRABRACHIIDAE, LOPHICHTHYIDAE, BRACHIONICHTHYIDAE, CHAUNACIDAE and OGCOCEPHALIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ a b Theodore W Pietsch (2022). "Order Lophiiformes". In Phillip C Heemstra; Elaine Heemstra; David A Ebert; Wouter Holleman; John E Randall (eds.). Coastal Fishes of the Western Indian Ocean (PDF). Vol. 2. South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity. pp. 281–307. ISBN 978-1-990951-29-9.
- ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Malthopsis bradburyae". FishBase. February 2024 version.