''Bothrocara'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or hor ...

es belonging to the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Zoarcidae The eelpouts are the ray-finned fish family (biology), family Zoarcidae. As the common name suggests, they are somewhat eel-like in appearance. All of the roughly 300 species are ocean, marine and mostly bottom-dwelling, some at great depths. Eel ...

, the

eelpout The eelpouts are the ray-finned fish family Zoarcidae. As the common name suggests, they are somewhat eel-like in appearance. All of the roughly 300 species are marine and mostly bottom-dwelling, some at great depths. Eelpouts are predominantly ...

s. They are found in the Pacific Ocean with one species reaching the southwestern Atlantic Ocean.

Taxonomy

''Bothrocara'' was first proposed as a

monospecific genus In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

in 1890 by the American

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Octobe ...

Tarleton Hoffman Bean when he described ''Bothrocara mollis'' from Cape St. James, in Haida Gwaii,

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. This genus is classified within the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Lycodinae Lycodinae is a subfamily of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. These eelpouts are found are in all the world's oceans, with a number of species being found off southern South America. Taxonomy Lycodinae was f ...

, one of 4 subfamilies in the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. This genus is the

sister taxon In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and t ...

to '' Bothrocarina'', ''

Lycodapus Lycodapus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. The species in this genus are found in the Pacific and Southern Oceans. Taxonomy ''Lycodapus'' was first proposed as a monospecific genus in 1890 by ...

'' and ''

Lycogrammoides ''Lycogrammoides'' is a monospecific genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. Its only species is ''Lycogrammoides schmidti'', a rare species of the Sea of Okhotsk in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. Taxonomy ...

'', and these four genera form a

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

within the subfamily Lycodinae.

Etymology

''Bothrocara'' is a compound of ''bothros'', which means "pit" or "trench", and ''kara'', meaning head, an allusion to the large pores along jaws and reaching back to the operculum in ''B. mollis''.

Species

Species include: A review of the genus in 2011 placed ''B. elongata'', ''B. nyx'' and ''B. pusillum'' in the genus '' Bentartia'' and classifies ''B. tanakae'' in the monospecific genus '' Zestichthys''.

Characteristics

''Bothrocara'' eelpouts share the loss of an oral valve with the three sister taxa. They also share the absence of a pelvic fin and compared to other Lycodin eelpouts they do not display marked sexual dimorphism. In his original description of the genus Bean stated that it bore a resemblance to the genus '' Maynea'' but lacked teeth on the vomer and palate with the small teeth in the jaws being arranged in narrow bands with very few on the lower jaw. There are six branchiostegals and the gill membrane is narrowly attached to the isthmus. There are large pores along the jaws and these extend rearwards onto the operculum. The front part of the body is naked, with no scales. The

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through conv ...

has its origin over the that of the pectoral fin and is continuous with the

anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

. However, later authors state that these fish do have vomerine and palatine teeth and that most species, other than the type species, are extensively scaled. These fishes range in size from a maximum published

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish m ...

of in ''B. pusillum'' to in ''B. tanakae''.

Distributuion and habitat

''Bothrocara'' eelpouts are mainly found in the northern Pacific Ocean with one species, ''B. elongatum'', being found in the eastern central Pacific Ocean as far south as Chile, and another ''B. molle'' extending into the southwestern Atlantic Ocean. They are demersal fish and can be found in shallow and deep water, mainly along continental slopes.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2651946 Lycodinae Taxa named by Tarleton Hoffman Bean