''Careproctus ovigerus'', commonly known as the abyssal snailfish, is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
snailfish
The Liparidae, commonly known as snailfish or sea snails, are a Family (biology), family of Saltwater fish, marine Scorpaeniformes, scorpaeniform fishes.
Widely distributed from the Arctic Ocean, Arctic to Antarctic Oceans, including the ocea ...
found in the northeastern Pacific Ocean. It is found at depths of off northern
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, ...
and off
Washington state
Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...
.
Description
Like other members of the family Liparidae
The Liparidae, commonly known as snailfish or sea snails, are a family of marine scorpaeniform fishes.
Widely distributed from the Arctic to Antarctic Oceans, including the oceans in between, the snailfish family contains more than 30 genera ...
, ''C. ovigerus'' is an elongated fish with a gelatinous skin with no scales. The pectoral fins are large and used for locomotion and the pelvic fins are modified into an adhesive disc.Careproctus
''Careproctus'' is a genus of snailfishes found in benthic and benthopelagic habitats in the Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic and Southern Oceans. Whether they truly are absent from the Indian Ocean (except for a couple of species in Subantarctic water ...
'' can often be distinguished by the pore pattern made by the cephalic pores (the nasal, maxillary, preoperculomandibular and suprabranchial pores); in this species the pattern formed is 2–6–7–1. This species closely resembles '' C. lycopersicus'' and '' C. kamikawai'', but those two species have tri-lobed teeth in several broad bands while ''C. ovigerus'' has simple, sharp recurved teeth in a single narrow band.[
]
Behavior
''Careproctus ovigerus'' is thought to be a mouth brooder
Mouthbrooding, also known as oral incubation and buccal incubation, is the care given by some groups of animals to their offspring by holding them in the mouth of the parent for extended periods of time. Although mouthbrooding is performed by a va ...
as the holotype
A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...
, a male, was found to be carrying two developing eggs in his mouth. Two immature females of standard length had undeveloped ovaries containing many small eggs in diameter, while larger, mature females had fewer, large-yolked eggs in their ovaries, the egg being some in diameter.[
]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2200528
Liparidae
Taxa named by Charles Henry Gilbert
Fish described in 1896