Family CHANNICHTHYIDAE

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Introduction

The Channichthyidae are mainly Antarctic (Southern Ocean) fishes with a few species occurring in southern South America. Although primarily benthic they also display an active vertical migration to feed on pelagic prey. They are unique among vertebrates in that all species lack red blood cells. Survival appears to be facilitated by living in extremely cold, well-oxygenated water and having skin respiration with a large volume of efficiently circulated blood (Iwami 1985; Iwami & Kock 1990; Kock 2005; Nelson 2006).

The family comprises 11 genera and about 16 species, 12 of which are found in the Australian Antarctic Territory or sub-Antarctic Islands. Most species recorded in Australian waters are endemic to the Southern Ocean and are circum-Antarctic. Champsocephalus gunnari is primarily sub-Antarctic but also recorded along the Antarctic Peninsula, while Channichthys rhinoceratus is known from sub-Antarctic Islands of the southern Indian Ocean (Iwami & Kock 1990).

Channichthyids are a highly derived, monophyletic group, with Bathydraconidae as the sister lineage. However differences exist between various studies in the relationships within the family (Iwami 1985, Balushkin 2000, Chen et al 1988, Kock, 2005). The most recent study of Near et al (2003) using a combined approach agrees with Iwami (1985) and Chen et al. (1998) in placing Champsocephalus as basal and sister to all other channichthyids, and produced a well resolved phylogeny for the remaining genera. There is disagreement regarding the number of species of Channichthys, a genus endemic to the Kerguelen Plateau with up to ten species having been described. A single species C. rhinoceratus is widely recognised (Eastman & Eakin 2015), although some authors recognise 2-3 and others up to 9 species (Shandikov 2011). The genus is characterised by significant phenotypic pasticity (Iwami & Kock 1990, Kock 2005) so we follow Eastman & Eakin (2015) in recognising a single species until further studies are conducted.

General References

Balushkin, A.V. 2000. Morphology, classification, and evolution of notothenioid fishes of the Southern Ocean (Notothenioidei, Perciformes). Journal of Ichthyology 40(Supplement 1): 74-109

Chen, W-J., Bonillo, C. & Lecointre, G. 1998. Phylogeny of the Channichthyidae (Notothenioidei, Teleostei) based on two mitochondrial genes. pp. 287-298 in di Prisco, G., Pisano, E. and Clark, A. Fishes of Antarctica: A biological overview. Berlin : Springer pp. 363.

Iwami, T. 1985. Osteology and relationships of the family Channichthyidae. Memoirs of the National Institute of Polar Research E (36): 1-69 [55]

Iwami, T. & Kock, K.-H. 1990. Channichthyidae. pp. 381-399 in Gon, O. & Heemstra, P.C. (eds). Fishes of the Southern Ocean. Grahamstown : J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology 462 pp.

Kock, K.-H. 2005. Antarctic icefishes (Channichthyidae): a unique family of fishes. A review, Part I. Polar Biology 28: 862-895

Near, T.J., Pesavento, J.J. & Cheng, C.-H.C. 2003. Mitochondrial DNA, morphology, and the phylogenetic relationships of Antarctic icefishes (Notothenioidei: Channichthyidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 28(2003): 87-98

Nelson, J.S. 2006. Fishes of the World. Hoboken, New Jersey : John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 601 pp. [403]

Shandikov, G.A. 2011. Channichthys richardsoni sp. n., a new Antarctic icefish (Perciformes: Notothenioidei: Channichthyidae) from the Kerguelen Islands area, Indian sector of the Southern Ocean. The Journal of V.N.Karazin Kharkiv National University. Series: biology 14(971): 125-134

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