| Family Icosteidae - Ragfish | ||||
| Order | : | Scombriformes |
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| Class | : | Teleostei | ||
| No. in FishBase | : | Genera : 1 | Species : 1 Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes | ||
| Environment | : | Fresh : No | Brackish : No | Marine : Yes | ||
| Division | : | Marine | ||
| Aquarium | : | none | ||
| First Fossil Record | : | |||
| Remark | : | Distribution: North Pacific from Japan to California. Body strongly compressed. Skeletal framework mainly of cartilage, thus unusually flexible. Skin thick and tough. The juveniles and adults differ greatly in appearance and were originally described as different species. The transition to adult form occurs between 40 and 60 cm standard length. Body deep in juveniles, elongate in adults. Eyes small. Mouth terminal and large. Fin spines absent. Dorsal and anal fins single, long, and high, comprising 50-56 and 33-44 soft rays, respectively. Caudal peduncle long and slender. Caudal fin large and paddlelike, rounded in juveniles and emarginate in adults. Pectoral fins fanlike, pedunculate, 20-22 rays. Pelvic fins and scales present in juveniles, absent in adults. Two nostrils, close together toward front of snout, on each side. Lateral line canal single, with keel of minute spines. Teeth uniserial, small, sharp, closely and evenly set; vomerine and palatine teeth absent. Gill membranes separate, free from the isthmus; except joined and attached to the isthmus for a short distance anteriorly. Branchiostegal rays 6 or 7. Gill rakers 7-17 on first arch. Swim bladder absent. Vertebrae 66-70. Juvenile light brown blotched yellow and purple, adult dark purplish brown. Attains 213 cm maximum total length. Juveniles occur in shallow water or offshore near the surface; adults near bottom and deep, to 1,420 m. Feeds mainly on jellyfishes but also reported to take cephalopods and small fishes. | ||
| Etymology | : | Greek, eikosi, eikostos, -e, -on = twentieth ( Ref. 45335). | ||
| Reproductive guild | : | nonguarders | ||
| Typical activity level | : | |||
Main Ref. |
: | Mecklenburg, C.W. 2003 | ||
| Coordinator | : | |||
Deep Fin Classification
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: | Osteichthyes | Actinopterygii | Actinopteri | Neopterygii | Teleostei | Osteoglossocephalai | Clupeocephala | Euteleosteomorpha | Neoteleostei | Eurypterygia | Ctenosquamata | Acanthomorphata | Acanthopterygii | Percomorphaceae | Pelagiaria | | | Scombriformes | | | Icosteidae | ||
Important recommendation:
The list below must not be used as an authority reference synonymy list like those found in scientific published revisions, which must be the source to be used and cited eventually when they exist.
Rather, it reflects the current content of FishBase, and the progress with respect to synchronization with the Catalog of Fishes. However, we think it can be useful for users to assess the quality of information in FishBase, to start new work on the family, or to cross-check with other lists.
But we appreciate to be cited in publications when this list has been of any working value. In particular, for published scientific, we suggest then to cite it in the Material and Method section as a useful tool to conduct the research, but again, not as a taxonomic or nomenclatural authority reference.
Unless it is explicitly precised, the list is not complete, please search all original names published for the family in the Catalog of Fishes (genera, species), including those with uncertain or unknown status, that are not included in FishBase when they are not attached to a valid species.
This list uses some data from Catalog of Fishes (not shown but used to sort names).
The list ordered as follows:
Please send comments and corrections if you detect errors or missing names.
| Scientifc name | Status | Senior/Junior synonym | Combination |
|---|---|---|---|
Icosteus aenigmaticus Lockington, 1880 | accepted | senior | original |
Schedophilopsis spinosus Steindachner, 1881 | synonym | junior | original |
Acrotus willoughbyi Bean, 1888 | synonym | junior | original |
