''Mirapinna esau'', the hairyfish, is a species of

flabby whalefish Cetomimidae is a family of small, deep-sea cetomimiform fish. They are among the most deep-living fish known, with some species recorded at depths in excess of . Adults are known as flabby whalefishes while juveniles are known as tapetails and ...

only known from the

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 ...

near the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

. Formerly considered a member of the no-longer-recognized family Mirapinnidae, this species is the only known member of its

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 ...

Description

''Mirapinna esau'' grows to a length of total length (TL). Little is known of the fish beyond its appearance. Wheeler (1977) states that only one specimen was caught, near the sea surface, and that it was a

copepod Copepods (; meaning "oar-feet") are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat (ecology), habitat. Some species are planktonic (inhabiting sea waters), some are benthos, benthic (living on the ocean floor) ...

feeder. The original specimen was captured north of the

at 47°20'North, 22°30'West.

Etymology

The generic name is from the Latin ''mirus'' (wonderful) and ''pinna'' (thorn), for the unusual fins possessed by this fish. The specific name is from the

Biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

figure

Esau Esau ''Ēsaû''; la, Hesau, Esau; ar, عِيسَوْ ''‘Īsaw''; meaning "hairy"Easton, M. ''Illustrated Bible Dictionary'', (, , 2006, p. 236 or "rough".Mandel, D. ''The Ultimate Who's Who in the Bible'', (.), 2007, p. 175 is the elder son o ...

, who is stated to be a hairy man (Genesis 27:11).

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q147805 Cetomimidae Monotypic fish genera Fish described in 1956