''Cryptacanthodes'' 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 is a

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

monogeneric 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 ...

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 ...

Cryptacanthodidae, commonly referred to as wrymouths. Three of the four species are found in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

with one species native to the western

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

where they are

benthic The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning "t ...

fishes, tunneling through soft substrates. It is currently the only known genus in its family.

Taxonomy

''Cryptacanthodes'' was first proposed as a

monotypic 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 ...

genus in 1839 by the American

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and naturalist

David Humphreys Storer David Humphreys Storer (March 26, 1804—September 10, 1891) was an American physician and naturalist. He served as dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Harvard Medical School from 1855–1864, and published on the reptiles and fishes of New Engla ...

when he described ''Cryptacanthodes maculatus'' from

Boston Harbor Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeastern United States. History Since ...

on the

Gulf of Maine The Gulf of Maine is a large gulf of the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of North America. It is bounded by Cape Cod at the eastern tip of Massachusetts in the southwest and by Cape Sable Island at the southern tip of Nova Scotia in the northeast ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. The genus is the only genus in the family Cryptacanthodidae, which was named by

Theodore Gill Theodore Nicholas Gill (March 21, 1837 – September 25, 1914) was an American ichthyologist, mammalogist, malacologist and librarian. Career Born and educated in New York City under private tutors, Gill early showed interest in natural histor ...

in 1861. The 5th edition of ''

Fishes of the World ''Fishes of the World'' by the American ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011) is a standard reference for fish systematics. Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of the diversity and classification of the ...

'' classifies this family within the

suborder Order ( la, ordo) is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and ...

Zoarcoidei Zoarcoidei is a suborder of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Scorpaeniformes. The suborder includes the wolffishes, gunnels and eelpouts. The suborder includes about 400 species. These fishes predominantly found in the boreal se ...

, within the order Scorpaeniformes. Other authorities classify this family in the

infraorder Order ( la, ordo) is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and ...

Zoarcales wihin the suborder Cottoidei of the

Perciformes Perciformes (), also called the Percomorpha or Acanthopteri, is an order or superorder of ray-finned fish. If considered a single order, they are the most numerous order of vertebrates, containing about 41% of all bony fish. Perciformes means ...

because removing the Scorpaeniformes from the Perciformes renders that taxon non

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

Etymology

''Cryptacanthodes'' is a compound of ''cryptos'', meaning "concealed", and ''acanthodes'', which means "spined", a reference to spines of 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 ...

in the wryfish (''C. maculatus'') “ being hidden within a membrane.

Species

The currently recognized species in this genus are: * ''

Cryptacanthodes aleutensis ''Cryptacanthodes'' is a genus of is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the monogeneric family Cryptacanthodidae, commonly referred to as wrymouths. Three of the four species are found in the Pacific Ocean with one species native t ...

'' ( C. H. Gilbert, 1896) (dwarf wrymouth) * ''

Cryptacanthodes bergi ''Cryptacanthodes'' is a genus of is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the monogeneric Family (biology), family Cryptacanthodidae, commonly referred to as wrymouths. Three of the four species are found in the Pacific Ocean with on ...

Lindberg Lindberg is a municipality in the district of Regen in Bavaria in Germany in the immediate neighbourhood of the larger town Zwiesel. Location Lindberg lies in the Danube Forest (''Donau-Wald'') region in the middle of the Bavarian Forest on ...

, 1930 * ''

Cryptacanthodes giganteus The giant wrymouth (''Cryptacanthodes giganteus'') is a species of wrymouth found in the northeastern Pacific Ocean from the Bering Sea to northern California where it is believed to spend most of its life buried in soft areas at the bottom of th ...

'' ( Kittlitz, 1858) (giant wrymouth) * ''

Cryptacanthodes maculatus The wrymouth (''Cryptacanthodes maculatus'') sometimes called ghostfish or "potato-head fish", is a slim, eel-like creature belongs to the wrymouth family Cryptacanthodidae. It outgrows the blennies, its relatives, and may reach a length of ...

'' D. H. Storer, 1839 (wrymouth)

Characteristics

''Cryptacanthodes'' have an elongate body which is rounded towards the head and compressed towards the tail.. They have a wide, flattened head with highly set eyes. The large mouth has a projecting lower jaw and is highly oblique, nearly vertical in alignment. The dorsal and

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 ...

s are long based, reaching the base of the

caudal 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 ...

or are joined to the caudal fin. The

has 60-80 stiff spines while the anal fin has up to three spines and 43-52 soft rays. The

pectoral 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 ...

s are very small and there are no

pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral surface of fish. The paired pelvic fins are homologous to the hindlimbs of tetrapods. Structure and function Structure In actinopterygians, the pelvic fin consists of two en ...

s, although there is a pelvic girdle. They have a single pair of tubular nostrils. In most species there are no scales, although ''C. giganteus'' has small

ctenoid A fish scale is a small rigid plate that grows out of the skin of a fish. The skin of most jawed fishes is covered with these protective scales, which can also provide effective camouflage through the use of reflection and colouration, as ...

scales. The mechanosensory canals on the head do not have openings to the outside. The

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelial ...

is amde up of widely spaced superficial

neuromasts The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelial ...

Vomerine teeth The vomer (; lat, vomer, lit=ploughshare) is one of the unpaired facial bones of the skull. It is located in the midsagittal line, and articulates with the sphenoid, the ethmoid, the left and right palatine bones, and the left and right maxill ...

and palatine teeth are present in three species, but are absent in ''C. aleutensis''. The gill membranes have a wide connection to the isthmus and the gill openings do not extend very far forward. There is no

swim bladder The swim bladder, gas bladder, fish maw, or air bladder is an internal gas-filled Organ (anatomy), organ that contributes to the ability of many bony fish (but not cartilaginous fish) to control their buoyancy, and thus to stay at their curren ...

. The are pale brown on the upper body and cream-colored on the lower body. They may be marked with spots and some specimens ay be a uniform pink or red. Wryfish reach maximum

total 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 ...

s which vary from .

Distribution and habitat

''Cryptacanthodes'' Are found in the cold-temperate waters of the North Pacific and western North Atlantic in coastal areas. They excavate the soft substrate to create extensive tunnel systems which have many exits.

References

External links

Cryptacanthodidae at Encyclopedia of Life
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2165924 Ray-finned fish genera Taxa named by David Humphreys Storer