''Lycenchelys'' is a
genus of marine
ray-finned fishes belonging to the
family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. The genus has almost
cosmopolitan distribution
In biogeography, cosmopolitan distribution is the term for the range of a taxon that extends across all or most of the world in appropriate habitats. Such a taxon, usually a species, is said to exhibit cosmopolitanism or cosmopolitism. The ext ...
.
Taxonomy
''Lycenelchys'' was first proposed as a genus in 1884 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 ...
Theodore Gill with ''Lycodes muraena'' being designated as the
type species in 1920 by David Starr Jordan,
Bodø
Bodø (; smj, Bådåddjo, sv, Bodö) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Bodø (which is also the capital of Nordland count ...
in Norway, at a depth of .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, one of four subfamilies in the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts.
Species
''Lycenchelys'' contains the following species:
Etymology
''Lycenchelys'' is a combination of ''lyc'', a referencce to the genus ''Lycodes
''Lycodes'' is a genus of Zoarcidae, zoarcid fish in the subfamily (biology), subfamily Lycodinae. It is the most species-rich genus in its family (biology), taxonomic family as well as in the Arctic Ocean and adjacent waters. They occupy both sh ...
'' and '' enchelys'', the Greek word for "eel". i.e. similar to ''Lycodes'' but with a more elongated eel-like shape.
Characteristics
''Lycenelchys'' are regarded as derived
Derive may refer to:
* Derive (computer algebra system), a commercial system made by Texas Instruments
* ''Dérive'' (magazine), an Austrian science magazine on urbanism
*Dérive, a psychogeographical concept
See also
*
*Derivation (disambiguatio ...
Lycodine eelpouts which are separated from other Lycodine genera by a number of oseological characters.[ They can be diagnosed by having between 6 and 10 suborbital bones and a cephalic sensory canal with between 6 and 10 pores. The ]pterygiophore
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 ...
of the first dorsal fin ray is associated with the second to the 21st vertebrae and there can be up to 16 free pterygiophores, or there may be none. There is a weak series of palatopterygoids, a weak oral valve and pseudobranch. They may or may not have pelvic fins, vomerine teeth and palatine teeth. Scales, the pyloric caeca and lateral line or lines are all present.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 , while the lowest published length is that of ''Lycenchelys peruana'' with a maximum total length of .[
]
Distribution and habitat
''Lycenchelys'' is a cosmopolitan genus with species in all oceans, they are found in continental slope and abyssal habitats. They are rare or absent from the far northern Arctic, the eastern Atlantic and the tropical Indian Oceans.[
]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3496978
Lycodinae
Taxa named by Theodore Gill