''Dibranchus'' is a genus of marine

ray-finned fishes Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class (biology), class of Osteichthyes, bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built ...

belonging to the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Ogcocephalidae Ogcocephalidae is a family of anglerfish specifically adapted for a benthic lifestyle of crawling about on the seafloor. Ogcocephalid anglerfish are sometimes referred to as batfishes,monospecific genus 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 "unispe ...

in 1902 by the German

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

Wilhelm Peters Wilhelm Karl Hartwich (or Hartwig) Peters (22 April 1815 – 20 April 1883) was a German natural history, naturalist and explorer. He was assistant to the anatomist Johannes Peter Müller and later became curator of the Natural History Museum, ...

when he described ''Dibranchus atlanticus''. The type locality of ''D. atlanticus'' was given as near the coast of Western Africa at a depth of . This genus is classified within the "

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

clade" of the family Ogcocephalidae. The family Ogcocephalidae is classified in the

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 "unisp ...

suborder Order () 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 recognized ...

Ogcocephaloidei Ogcocephalidae is a family of anglerfish specifically adapted for a benthic lifestyle of crawling about on the seafloor. Ogcocephalid anglerfish are sometimes referred to as batfishes,order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

Lophiiformes, the anglerfishes in the 5th edition of ''

Fishes of the World ''Fishes of the World'' is a standard reference for the systematics of fishes. It was first written in 1976 by the American ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011). Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of t ...

''.

Etymology

''Dibranchus'' prefixes ''di'', meaning "two", on to ''branchus'', meaning "gills", a reference to only the second and third

gill arch Branchial arches or gill arches are a series of paired bony/ cartilaginous "loops" behind the throat ( pharyngeal cavity) of fish, which support the fish gills. As chordates, all vertebrate embryos develop pharyngeal arches, though the event ...

es having gills, the fourth having no gill filaments.

Species

''Dibranchus'' has the following species classified within it: * '' Dibranchus accinctus'' Bradbury, 1999 * '' Dibranchus atlanticus'' Peters, 1876 (Atlantic batfish) * '' Dibranchus cracens'' Bradbury, McCosker &

Long Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mens ...

, 1999 * '' Dibranchus discors'' Bradbury, McCosker & Long, 1999 * '' Dibranchus erinaceus''

Garman Garman is a surname or first name. Notable people with the name include: Sports * Ann Garman, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player * Judi Garman (born 1954), American softball coach * Mike Garman (born 1949), American baseball pla ...

, 1899 * '' Dibranchus hystrix'' Garman, 1899 * '' Dibranchus japonicus'' Amaoka & Toyoshima, 1981 (Japanese seabat) * '' Dibranchus nasutus''

Alcock Alcock is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alfred William Alcock, British naturalist * C. W. Alcock, British sports administrator, creator of the FA Cup * Charles R. Alcock, American astronomer * Deborah Alcock, British auth ...

, 1891 * '' Dibranchus nudivomer'' Garman, 1899 * '' Dibranchus sparsus'' Garman, 1899 * '' Dibranchus spinosus'' Garman, 1899 * '' Dibranchus spongiosa'' C. H. Gilbert, 1890 * '' Dibranchus tremendus'' Bradbury, 1999 * '' Dibranchus velutinus'' Bradbury, 1999 Many authorities treat ''D. nasutus'' and ''D. nudiventer'' as members of the genus '' Halieutopsis''.

Characteristics

''Dibranchus'' batfishes have flattened heads which widen into roughly oval or triangular discs and a long

caudal peduncle Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported only ...

. The mouth varies in size from relatively small to quite large. The space on the snout for storing the

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

is small and has a bony ridge covered in sharp spines overhanging it. The esca, or lure, consists of a central bulb which has a further pair of bulges at its base, there is no separation between the three components. The eye is not covered inn skin and there is a large preopercular spine\, this has between 4 and 8 spinelets on either side of its tip. The openings to the gills are small and are located to the rear of the upper base of the

pectoral fins Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported only b ...

and the

gill raker Gill rakers in fish are bony or cartilaginous processes that project from the branchial arch (gill arch) and are involved with suspension feeding tiny prey. They are not to be confused with the gill filaments that compose the fleshy part of th ...

s are tiny pads of teeth placed on stalks. The dorsal and anal fins are small, positioned to the rear of body. The base of the pectoral fins do not have a membrane connecting them to the body or caudal peduncle. The

pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral (belly) surface of fish, and are the lower of the only two sets of paired fins (the other being the laterally positioned pectoral fins). The pelvic fins are homologous to the hi ...

s are not reduced. 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 epithelia ...

is interrupted, the rear section bends downwards immediately in front of the anus. The scales have bony tubercles with many small spines. The ventral surface of the body is wholly covered in scales. The largest species in this genus is ''D. tremendus'' of the central Atlantic, which has a maximum published

total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fishery biology. Overall length Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish measured f ...

of , while the smallest is ''D. sparsus'' of the eastern central Pacific with a maximum published

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of fish anatomy, their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and fishery biology. Overall length Standard length (SL) is ...

of .

Distribution and habitat

''Dibranchus'' batfishes are found in tropical and warm temperate waters, with most species being found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, especially the eastern Pacific Ocean. There are two species, ''D. atlanticus'' and ''D. tremendus'', occurring in the Atlantic Ocean; these species are found in both the eastern and western Atlantic Ocean. These batfishes are

demersal fish Demersal fish, also known as groundfish, live and feed on or near the bottom of seas or lakes (the demersal zone).Walrond Carl . "Coastal fish - Fish of the open sea floor"Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Updated 2 March 2009 They oc ...

es found between down to depths in excess of . The species in this genus all seem to have specific depth ranges; for example, the two Atlantic species are separated by depth with ''D. atlanticus'' being found above depths of and ''D tremendus'' being found deeper than that.

References

{{Authority control Marine fish genera Taxa named by Wilhelm Peters

Etymology

Species

Characteristics

Distribution and habitat

See also

References