The whipnose anglers are a family, the Gigantactinidae, of marineray-finned fishes which is classified within the suborderCeratioidei, the deep sea anglerfishes. These fishes are found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.
The whipnose angler family name, Gigantactinidae, has a name that is derived from Giganactis, its type genus and the only genus in the family when it was proposed by Boulenger. Gigantactis is a combination of gigantos, meaning "giant", with actis, which means "ray", an allusion to the unusually long illicium of genus's type species, G. vanhoeffeni.[5]
Characteristics
The whipnose anglers are deep sea anglerfishes with elongate bodies which differ from other Ceratioid families by the metamorphosed females having a very long illicium, the pectoral fins containing 5 radials and a long caudal peduncle.[2] The largest species in the family is G. vanhoeffeni with a maximum published total length of 62 cm (24 in).[6] Metamorphosed whipnose angler males have very small eyes and a large olfactory apparatus with the forward nostrils positioned close together opening to the front. The premaxilla is reduced and there are no teeth in the jaws. The denticular teeth are separate with between 3 and 6 on the upper denticular, rarelt 2, and between 4 and 7, rarely 3, on the lower denticular.[2]
Distribution and habitat
Whipnose anglers are found in the tropical and temperate parts of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans in the bathypelagic and mesopelagic zones from depths between 0 and 5,300 m (0 and 17,388 ft).[7][8]
Biology
Whipnose angler males do not appear to be sexual parasites on the females, they appear to continue to grow after metamorphosis despite there being no evidence of feeding following metamorphosis.[2]