''Gigantactis'' is a genus of deep-sea fish of the family Gigantactinidae, first described in 1902 by

August Brauer August Bernhard Brauer (3 April 186310 September 1917) was a German zoologist. Brauer was born in Oldenburg. He studied natural sciences at the Universities of Bonn, Berlin and Freiburg, obtaining his doctorate in 1895 with a thesis on the ciliat ...

. The species in this genus are poorly known and found in all oceans, at depths of . The most striking feature of these fish is extremely enlarged first filament of dorsal fin, called the

illicium ''Illicium'' is a genus of flowering plants treated as part of the family Schisandraceae,

, with bioluminescent

photophore A photophore is a glandular organ that appears as luminous spots on various marine animals, including fish and cephalopods. The organ can be simple, or as complex as the human eye; equipped with lenses, shutters, color filters and reflectors, ...

at its end. (In ''G. longicauda'' the length of the illicium can be up to 3.3 times the standard length of the fish.)

Species

, there are currently 20 recognized extant species in this genus: * '' Gigantactis balushkini'' Kharin, 1984 * '' Gigantactis elsmani'' Bertelsen, Pietsch & Lavenberg, 1981 (Elsman's Whipnose) * '' Gigantactis gargantua'' Bertelsen, Pietsch & Lavenberg, 1981 (Gigantic Whipnose) * '' Gigantactis gibbsi'' Bertelsen, Pietsch & Lavenberg, 1981 * '' Gigantactis golovani'' Bertelsen, Pietsch & Lavenberg, 1981 * '' Gigantactis gracilicauda''

Regan The family name Regan, along with its cognates O'Regan, O Regan, Reagan, and O'Reagan, is an Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Riagáin or Ó Ríogáin, from Ua Riagáin. The meaning is likely to have originated in ancient Gaelic ''ri'' ...

, 1925 * '' Gigantactis herwigi'' Bertelsen, Pietsch & Lavenberg, 1981 * '' Gigantactis ios'' Bertelsen, Pietsch & Lavenberg, 1981 * '' Gigantactis kreffti'' Bertelsen, Pietsch & Lavenberg, 1981 * '' Gigantactis longicauda'' Bertelsen & Pietsch, 2002 * '' Gigantactis longicirra'' Waterman, 1939 * '' Gigantactis macronema''

, 1925 * '' Gigantactis meadi'' Bertelsen, Pietsch & Lavenberg, 1981 * '' Gigantactis microdontis'' Bertelsen, Pietsch & Lavenberg, 1981 * '' Gigantactis microphthalmus''

& Trewavas, 1932 * '' Gigantactis paxtoni'' Bertelsen, Pietsch & Lavenberg, 1981 (Paxton's whipnose) * '' Gigantactis perlatus'' Beebe & Crane, 1947 * '' Gigantactis savagei'' Bertelsen, Pietsch & Lavenberg, 1981 * '' Gigantactis vanhoeffeni'' A. B. Brauer, 1902 (Cosmopolitan whipnose) * '' Gigantactis watermani'' Bertelsen, Pietsch & Lavenberg, 1981

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2704001 Deep sea fish Bioluminescent fish Taxa named by August Brauer Marine fish genera Gigantactinidae Taxa described in 1902