Order

Lophiiformes

  Class

Actinopterygii

No. in FishBase

Genera : 2 | Species : 23 Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes

  Environment

Fresh : No | Brackish : No | Marine : Yes

  Division

Marine

  Aquarium

none

  First Fossil Record

     

  Remark

From Nelson (1994). Distribution: Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific. Females with elongate body. Length of illicium almost that of body or longer. Upper jaw jutting slightly past the lower jaw. Pectoral radials 5. Dorsal fin rays 3-10. Anal fin rays 3-8. Caudal fin rays 9. (Ref. 7463) Other distinguishing characters: Indicating a comparatively higher level of locomotion, the female body is slender, laterally compressed, streamlined, with a relatively short head, and long, narrow caudal peduncle; large horizontal mouth, the cleft terminating past the eye; small pectoral fins; the caudal fin usually deeply cleft at its posterior margin, almost always with 1 or 2 greatly extended dorsal- and ventral-most rays; unusually large and laterally compressed illicial pterygiophore; illicium very extended (highly variable lengths from 40 - 490% SL; full relative length at 3 cm SL); dentition highly variable; very large, well ossified, and heavily toothed second and third pharyngobranchials set in a forward position in the roof of the mouth; acoustico-lateralis system set on serially connected short stalks of pigmented skin along narrow unpigmented grooves; hypertrophied illicial pterygiophore, illicium and upper pharyngeals; vomer, pterosphenoids, mesopterygoids, and ossified scapulae all absent; supraethmoid and parietals much reduced or absent; sphenotic, quadrate, articular, angular, and preopercular spines all absent; the preopercle, interopercle, opercle, and subopercle all shrunken into small, thin bony struts; ligament connecting the interopercle and the angular is also absent; simple dentaries attached at the symphysis by thick elastic connective tissue, with no posterior bifurcation and lacking a symphysial spine; long and narrow premaxillae (well ossified in Gigantactis and much reduced in Rhynchactis) and lacking ascending or postmaxillary processes; maxillae may be absent or reduced to threadlike ossifications. Metamorphosed males with uniquely small eyes (3 to 5% SL diameter), large olfactory organs (8 to 10% SL depth); anteriorly directed and closely set anterior nostrils; well developed maxillae but degenerate premaxillae; almost all, if not all, denticular teeth mutually free; the upper denticular bone with no connection to the illicial pterygiophore, teeth count: 3 - 6 (rarely 2); lower denticular with 4 - 7 teeth (rarely 3); skin may be naked or densely covered with dermal spinules; males free-living, evidently nonparasitic. Larvae distinguished by extraordinarily large pectoral fins (45 to 55% SL); somewhat short, spherical body; highly inflated skin; sexual dimorphism occurring even in youngest larvae (females with a small, club-shaped illicial rudiment on the head; metamorphosis commences at 0.8 to 1.0 cm; subsequent developmental stages at 0.9 to 2.0 cm size range. Dorsal-fin rays: 3 to 9, anal-fin rays: 3 to 7, pectoral-fin rays: 14 to 22, and caudal-fin rays: 9 (extremely short ventral-most ray under the skin of the adjacent ray). Largest known female measures 43.5 cm (not yet sexually mature). Largest known male 2.2 cm. (Ref. 86949)

  Etymology

Greek, 'gigas' or 'gigantos' = gigantic + Greek, 'aktis' = ray (referring to the unusually long first dorsal-fin spine that functions as a lure in this genus) (Ref. 86949)

  Reproductive guild

nonguarders

  Typical activity level

  Main Ref

Nelson, J.S. 1994

  Coordinator

  Deep Fin Classification

Osteichthyes | Actinopterygii | Actinopteri | Neopterygii | Teleostei | Osteoglossocephalai | Clupeocephala | Euteleosteomorpha | Neoteleostei | Eurypterygia | Ctenosquamata | Acanthomorphata | Euacanthomorphacea | Percomorphaceae | Percomorpharia | Lophiiformes | Ceratioidei | Gigantactinidae