Subfamily Idiacanthinae

Stomiidae: Idiacanthinae

© Copyright Ros Poole.

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Introduction

The black dragonfishes (Idiacanthinae) were reviewed and illustrated most recently by Novikova (1967), who recognised one genus and three species We follow Nelson et al. in treating the group as a subfamily. Two species have been recorded from Australian waters. Harold (1999) treated the group as a separate family. Australian species area were treated by Stewart & Kenaley (2015).

Idiacanthines are meso-bathypelagic in all tropical and temperate waters and have been recorded to 2000 m in depth. Food is mostly other midwater fishes. Black dragonfishes are strikingly sexually dimorphic, with males attaining only 15% of the maximum length (48 cm) of females, lacking a chin barbel and ventral fins, and having a postocular light organ as large as the eye. Dragonfishes lack hexagonal pigment areas and scales, but have series of smaller photophores and two ventral rows of larger photophores. The extraordinary larvae, with eyes borne on the ends of long stalks, were originally described as a distinct genus, Stylophthalmus.

We thank R.H. Gibbs of USNM for his comments on an earlier version of this family account.

General References

Harold, A.S. 1999. Families Gonostomatidae, Sternoptychidae, Phosichthyidae, Astronesthidae, Stomiidae, Chauliodontidae, Melanostomiidae, Idiacanthidae, Malacosteidae. pp. 1896-1917 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, V.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 3 pp. 1397-2068.

Nelson, J.S., Grande, T.C. & Wilson, M.V.H. 2016. Fishes of the World. Hoboken, New Jersey : John Wiley & Sons 5, 752 pp.

Novikova, N.S. 1967. Idiacanthids of the Indian and Pacific Oceans (Pisces, Idiacanthidae). Trudy Instituta Okeanologii. Akademiya Nauk SSSR. Moskva 84: 159-208 figs 1-6 [in Russian]

Stewart, A.L. & Kenaley, C.P. 2015. Subfamily Idiacanthinae. pp. 521-523 in Roberts, C.D., Stewart, A.L. & Struthers, C.D. The Fishes of New Zealand. Wellington : Te Papa Press Vol. 2 pp. 1-576.

Common Name References

Harold, A.S. 1999. Families Gonostomatidae, Sternoptychidae, Phosichthyidae, Astronesthidae, Stomiidae, Chauliodontidae, Melanostomiidae, Idiacanthidae, Malacosteidae. pp. 1896-1917 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, V.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 3 pp. 1397-2068. [1914] (Black Dragonfishes, Sawtailfishes)

Pollard, J. (ed.) 1980. G.P. Whitley's Handbook of Australian Fishes. North Sydney : Jack Pollard Publishing Pty Ltd 629 pp. [23] (Stalk-eyed Marvel)

Whitley, G.P. 1948. A list of the fishes of Western Australia. Western Australia Fish Department. Fisheries Bulletin 2: 1-35 map [12] (Serpent Dragon)

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