Family Ceratiidae - Warty Seadevils
Order : Lophiiformes Ceratiidae Ceratiidae
Class : Teleostei
No. in FishBase : Genera : 2 | Species : 4 Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes
Environment : Fresh : No | Brackish : No | Marine : Yes
Division : Marine
Aquarium : none
First Fossil Record :      
Remark : From Pietsch (2009). Distribution: Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Distinguishing Character: Elongate, laterally compressed and relatively large in size with the cleft of the mouth vertical to strongly oblique. The back end of the peculiarly elongate pterygiophore of the illicium, emanating from the top midline of the trunk, retracts back and forth through a narrow cranial trough found along the full length of the dorsal region of the cranium, the posterior end of which extends sunken within a cavernous cylindrical skin evagination, projecting anterior to the caruncles. Metamorphosed females lacking sphenotic, quadrate, articular, angular, and preopercular spines. Illicium between the frontal bones on the snout. Skin completely covered with close-set dermal spinules. Notable unique feature are 2 - 3 caruncles (fleshy, wartlike glands) present before soft dorsal fin in females as a modification of 2 or 3 fin rays; soft rays usually 4 (rarely 5) in dorsal and anal fins. Females are host to the sexually parasitic mature males. Larvae "hump-backed", the mouth somewhat vertical and skin moderately inflated. Well-developed sexual dimorphism in all stages, with distinct illicial rudiment and caruncles on the dorsal midline of the trunk. Small pectoral fins. Second dorsal spine of female larvae and juvenile having a distal bioluminescent gland that is subsequently reduced and hidden subcutaneously just behind the base of the illicium in adults. With 4 pectoral radials. Esca oval-shaped and may or may not have 1 - 2 distal appendages. Free-living metamorphosed males having notably large, bowl-shaped eyes and in contrast, having minute olfactory organs. At the tip of the snout is a pair of large denticular teeth, fused at the base and articulating with the pterygiophore of the illicium. At the tip of the lower jaw are 2 pairs of denticular teeth. In juvenile free-living stages, the skin is naked and devoid of pigmentation becoming spinulose and darkly pigmented in parasitic stages. Ceratias holboelli females having standard length of at least 85.5 cm. Free-living males standard length of less than 0.2 cm. Parasitic males length range 0.08 - 14.0 cm. (Ref. 86949) Comments: Dorsal-fin rays rarely 3 or 5, excluding the 2 or 3 reduced rays within the caruncles; pectoral-fin rays 15 - 19 (rarely 14); caudal-fin rays 8 or 9 (8 in Cryptopsaras; the ninth, lowermost ray reduced in Ceratias; 2 simple + 4 bifurcated + 2 (or 3) simple). (Ref. 86949)
Etymology : Greek, keras or keratos = horn or horned (in reference to the lure projecting from the snout) (Ref. 86949)
Reproductive guild : nonguarders
Typical activity level :
Main Ref. : Pietsch, T.W. 2009
Coordinator :
Deep Fin Classification : Osteichthyes | Actinopterygii | Actinopteri | Neopterygii | Teleostei | Osteoglossocephalai | Clupeocephala | Euteleosteomorpha | Neoteleostei | Eurypterygia | Ctenosquamata | Acanthomorphata | Acanthopterygii | Percomorphaceae | Eupercaria | | | Lophiiformes | Ceratioidei | | Ceratiidae

Show species images | Show valid names | Nominal species list | CAS specimen photos | References

Ref.
[ e.g. 9948 ]
Glossary
[ e.g. oophagy ]


Species/Synonymy list for the family Ceratiidae as currently in FishBase

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.

Show all | Show only accepted name | Show only accepted and original names
Scientifc name Status Senior/Junior synonym Combination
Ceratias holboelli Krøyer, 1845
acceptedseniororiginal
Reganichthys giganteus Bigelow & Barbour, 1944
synonymjuniororiginal
Reganula giganteus (Bigelow & Barbour, 1944)
synonymjuniornew
acceptedseniororiginal
Manchalias uranoscopus (Murray, 1877)
synonymseniornew
! Mancalias uranoscopus (Murray, 1877)
synonymseniornew
synonymjuniororiginal
synonymjuniororiginal
Mancalias xenistius Regan & Trewavas, 1932
synonymjuniororiginal
! Manchalias xenistius Regan & Trewavas, 1932
synonymjuniororiginal
Ceratias holboelli (non Krøyer, 1845)
misappliedmisappliedoriginal
Ceratias tentaculatus (Norman, 1930)
acceptedseniornew
synonymseniororiginal
synonymseniornew
Mancalias bifilis Regan & Trewavas, 1932
synonymjuniororiginal
Ceratias holboelli (non Krøyer, 1845)
misappliedmisappliedoriginal
acceptedseniororiginal
Ceratias couesii (Gill, 1883)
synonymseniornew
! Cryptopsaras couesi Gill, 1883
synonymseniororiginal
synonymseniororiginal
! Cryptosaras couesi Gill, 1883
synonymseniororiginal
! Cryptosares couesi Gill, 1883
synonymseniororiginal
! Cryptosarus couesi Gill, 1883
synonymseniororiginal
Ceratias carunculatus Günther, 1887
synonymjuniororiginal
Cryptopsaras carunculatus (Günther, 1887)
synonymjuniornew
! Cryptosparas carunculatus (Günther, 1887)
synonymjuniornew
Ceratias mitsukurii Tanaka, 1908
synonymjuniororiginal
! Cryptosparas pennifer Regan & Trewavas, 1932
synonymjuniororiginal
Cryptopsaras pennifer Regan & Trewavas, 1932
synonymjuniororiginal
! Cryptosparas valdiviae Regan & Trewavas, 1932
synonymjuniororiginal
Cryptopsaras valdiviae Regan & Trewavas, 1932
synonymjuniororiginal
! Cryptosparas normani Regan & Trewavas, 1932
synonymjuniororiginal
Cryptopsaras normani Regan & Trewavas, 1932
synonymjuniororiginal
! Cryptosparas atlantidis Barbour, 1941
synonymjuniororiginal
synonymjuniororiginal
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