Lancetfish
Long-nosed Lancetfish(Alepisaurus ferox)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Aulopiformes Family: Alepisauridae Genus: Alepisaurus
Species
Alepisaurus ferox Lowe, 1833 Scientific classification - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... Phyla Porifera (sponges) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria Placozoa Bilateria Acoelomorpha Orthonectida Rhombozoa ?Myxozoa Superphylum Deuterostomia    Chordata (vertebrates, etc. ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicates Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... Orders See text The Actinopterygii are the ray-finned fish. ... Families Suborder Enchodontoidei   Dercetidae (extinct)   Cimolichthyidae (extinct)   Prionolepididae (extinct)   Enchodontidae (extinct)   Eurypholidae (extinct)   Halecidae (extinct)   Apateopholidae (extinct)   Ichthyotringidae (extinct) Suborder Giganturoidei   Giganturidae (telescopefishes) Suborder Aulopoidei   Aulopodidae (aulopus) Suborder Chlorophthalmoidei   Chlorophthalmidae (greeneyes)   Ipnopidae   Scopelarchidae (pearleyes)   Notosudidae (waryfishes) Suborder Alepisauroidei   Synodontidae (lizardfishes)   Pseudotrichonotidae   Paralepididae (barracudinas)   Anotopteridae (daggertooth)   Evermannelidae (sabertooth fishes)   Omosudidae   Alepisauridae... Scientific classification or biological classification refers to how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Alepisaurus brevirostris Gibbs, 1960

Lancetfish (genus Alepisaurus Lowe, 1833) (Lat. A - without, Lepid - scales, Saurus - lizard) are large (up to 2m), oceanic predators. Very little is known about their biology, even though they are widely distributed in all oceans, except the polar seas (Kubota & Uyeno, 1978). Specimens have been recorded as far north as Greenland (Jensen, 1948). They are often caught as by-catch for vessels long-lining for tuna. Ocean (Okeanos, a Greek god of sea and water; Greek ωκεανός) covers almost three quarters (71%) of the surface of the Earth. ... This snapping turtle is trying to make a meal of a Canada goose, but the goose is too wary. ... Biology is the science of life (from the Greek words bios = life and logos = reasoned account). ... Earths polar regions are the areas of the globe surrounding the poles, north of the Arctic circle, or south of the Antarctic Circle. ... Sunset at sea A sea is a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, or a large, usually saline, lake that lacks a natural outlet such as the Caspian Sea and the Dead Sea. ... Species Thunnus alalunga Thunnus albacares Thunnus atlanticus Thunnus maccoyii Thunnus obesus Thunnus orientalis Thunnus thynnus Thunnus tonggol Tuna are several species of ocean-dwelling fish in the family Scombridae, mostly in the genus Thunnus. ...

Morphology

Lancetfish possess a long and very high dorsal fin, soft-rayed from end to end, with the presence of an adipose fin behind it. The dorsal fin has 41 to 44 rays, and occupies the greater length of the back, is rounded in outline, about twice as high as the fish is deep, and can be depressed in a groove along the back. The body is slender, laterally flattened, deepest at the gill covers, and tapers back to a slender caudal peduncle. The mouth is wide, gaping to the back of the eye, and each jaw has two or three large fangs, besides smaller teeth. The adipose fin recalls that of the smelt in form and location. The caudal fin is very deeply forked; its upper lobe is prolonged as a long filament, and although most of the specimens seem to lose this when captured. The anal fin originates under the last dorsal ray, and is deeply concave in outline. The ventral fins, are about halfway between the anal and the tip of the snout, while the pectoral fins are considerably longer than the body is deep and are situated very low down on the sides. There are no scales and the fins are exceedingly fragile. Dorsal Fin of the Orca A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of fishes, whales, dolphins and porpoises. ... Adipose tissue is an anatomical term for loose connective tissue composed of energy in the form of fat, although it also cushions and insulates the body. ... Ray has several meanings. ... Groove (engineering) - a slot cut into hard material. ... In aquatic organisms, gills are a respiratory organ for the extraction of oxygen from water and for the excretion of carbon dioxide. ... In zootomy, several terms are used to describe the location of organs and other structures in the body of bilateral animals. ... The mouth, also known as the buccal cavity or the oral cavity, is the opening through which an animal or human takes in food. ... Diagram of a human eye. ... For other uses of the word jaws, see jaws (disambiguation). ... Fang may mean: One of the Beti-Pahuin ethnic groups of Central Africa; A pointed tooth; A transliteration of Chinese Family Names 方,防,房 etc. ... Types of teeth Molars are used for grinding up foods Carnassials are used for slicing food. ... See smelting for the chemical process. ... Fish anatomy is primarily governed by the physical characteristics of water, which is much denser than air, holds a relatively small amount of dissolved oxygen, and absorbs light more than does air. ... A fork on a saucer A fork is an implement with a handle on one end and long tines on the other; it is used for pricking, to hold or transfer something. ... In telecommunication, the term lobe has the following meanings: An identifiable segment of an antenna radiation pattern. ... A filament is a fine, thinly spun thread, fiber, or wire. ... Fish anatomy is primarily governed by the physical characteristics of water, which is much denser than air, holds a relatively small amount of dissolved oxygen, and absorbs light more than does air. ... In geometry, concavity is a property of certain geometric figures, and in calculus, a property of certain graphs of functions. ... In zootomy, several terms are used to describe the location of organs and other structures in the body of bilateral animals. ... Fish anatomy is primarily governed by the physical characteristics of water, which is much denser than air, holds a relatively small amount of dissolved oxygen, and absorbs light more than does air. ... In most biological nomenclature, a scale (Greek lepid) is a small rigid plate that grows out of an animals skin to provide protection. ...

There are currently two species recognised as valid. A. ferox (Lowe, 1833) and A. brevirostris Gibbs 1960. The main difference is the shape of the snout, which is long and pointed in A. ferox, and slightly shorter in A. brevirostris. In biology, a species is a kind of organism. ... In psychology a conclusion is said to be valid, if and only if, it is based on true premises. ...

Fisheries

There are no commercial fisheries for Lancetfish. Their flesh is watery and gelatinous and, although edible would prove difficult to utilise. They are caught as bycatch by tuna fisheries, and are seen as a pest, taking bait intended for more valuable species. Anecdotal evidence suggesting that they have an aphrodisiac effect is likely to be an urban myth. Commercial may mean: as a noun: a form of advertising, as in a television commercial as an adjective: referring to commerce or for-profit activities or trade (compare with non-profit organization) a breed of cattle, Commercial This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that... A fishery (plural: fisheries) is an organized effort by humans to catch fish or other aquatic species, an activity known as fishing. ... A falling water droplet Water (from the Anglo-Saxon and Low German wæter) is a colourless, tasteless, and odourless substance that is essential to all known forms of life and is the most universal solvent. ... Gelatin (also gelatine) is a translucent brittle solid, colorless or slightly yellow, nearly tasteless and odorless, that is created by prolonged boiling of animal connective tissue. ... In fisheries science, by-catch refers to species caught in a fishery intended to target another species, as well as reproductively_immature juveniles of the target species. ... Species Thunnus alalunga Thunnus albacares Thunnus atlanticus Thunnus maccoyii Thunnus obesus Thunnus orientalis Thunnus thynnus Thunnus tonggol Tuna are several species of ocean-dwelling fish in the family Scombridae, mostly in the genus Thunnus. ... The primary meaning of pest is an animal which has characteristics which people regard as being injurious or harmful. ... An aphrodisiac is an agent which causes the arousal of sexual desire. ... Urban Legend is also the name of a 1998 movie. ...

Ecology

Lancetfish have large mouths and sharp teeth, indicating a predatory mode of life. Their watery muscle is not suited to fast swimming and long pursuit, so it is likely that they are ambush predators, using their narrow body profile and silvery colouration to conceal their presence, then use their large dorsal fin to generate large acceleration, and large mouth and teeth to engulf prey before it can escape. That said, stomach content studies have revealed that they feed mainly upon planktonic crustaceans and tunicates, as well as other fish. They have also been shown to be cannibalistic. They are preyed upon by opah, sharks, albacore, yellowfin tuna, and fur seals. This article is about swim, a term for frequency variations. ... An ambush is a long established military tactic in which an ambushing force uses concealment to attack an enemy that passes its position. ... Acceleration is the time rate of change of velocity, and at any point on a v-t graph, it is given by the gradient of the tangent to that point In physics, acceleration (symbol: a) is defined as the rate of change (or time derivative) of velocity. ... The word Prey can refer to several things: In biology, the term prey refers to an animal that is sought, captured, and eaten by a predator in an act called predation. ... In anatomy, the stomach (in ancient Greek στομάχι) is an organ in the alimentary canal used to digest food. ... Photomontage of plankton organisms Plankton is the aggregate community of weakly swimming but mostly drifting small organisms that inhabit the water column of the ocean, seas, and bodies of freshwater. ... Classes Remipedia Cephalocarida Branchiopoda Ostracoda Maxillopoda Malacostraca The crustaceans (Crustacea) are a large group of arthropods (55,000 species), usually treated as a subphylum. ... Classes Ascidiacea Thaliacea Appendicularia Urochordata (sometimes known as tunicata and commonly called urochordates, tunicates or sea squirts) is the subphylum of saclike filter feeders with input and output siphons. ... Atlantic herring, Clupea harengus, the most abundant fish species in the world. ... Cannibalism is the act or practice of eating members of the same species, e. ... Orders see article text below Sharks are a group (superorder Selachimorpha) of fish, with a full cartilaginous skeleton, a streamlined body plan with between 5 and 7 gill slits along the sides (most often) or side of the head (the first modified slit is behind the eye and called a... Binomial name Thunnus alalunga (Bonnaterre, 1788) The albacore (Thunnus alalunga) is an important food fish, a type of tuna (family Scombridae). ... Binomial name Thunnus albacares The yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) is a type of tuna eaten as food. ... Genera Callorhinus Arctocephalus Fur seals make up one of the two distinct groups of mammals called seals. Both the fur seals and the true seals are members of the Pinnipedia, which is usually regarded as a suborder of the order Carnivora but sometimes as an independent order. ...

Reproduction

The reproductive system of lancetfish is something of a mystery. The gonads of adolescents have been shown to be hermaphroditic, although there is no evidence of functional hermaphroditism in adults. They are oviparous. A sex organ, or primary sexual characteristic, narrowly defined, is any of those parts of the body (which are not always bodily organs according to the strict definition) which are involved in sexual reproduction and constitute the reproductive system in an complex organism; namely: Male: penis (notably the glans penis... A sex organ, or primary sexual characteristic, narrowly defined, is any of those parts of the body (which are not always bodily organs according to the strict definition) which are involved in sexual reproduction and constitute the reproductive system in an complex organism; namely: Male: penis (notably the glans penis... A separate article is about the punk band called The Adolescents. ... In zoology, a hermaphrodite is a species that contains both male and female sexual organs at some point during their lives. ...

References

• Jensen, A. S. (1948). Contributions to the ichthyofauna of Greenland. Spolia Zool. Mus. Havn. Shriff Univ. Zool. Mus. Københaven 9:1-182.

• Kubota, T. & T. Uyeno. (1978). On some meristic characters of lancetfish, Alepisaurus, collected from Suruga Bay, Japan. Journal of Faculty of Marine Science and Technology, Tokai University 11:63-69.

See Also

• USS Lancetfish (SS-296)

USS Lancetfish (SS-296), a Balao-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the lancetfish (Alepisaurus ferox), a large voracious, deep sea fish having long lancetlike teeth and a high long dorsal fin. ...

External Links

• Parasites of Lancetfish (http://www.abdn.ac.uk/~nhi991/alepisaurus.htm)

• Presence of Lancetfish in the Gulf of Maine (http://www.gma.org/fogm/Alepisaurus_ferox.htm)