Sigmops bathyphilus

Sigmops bathyphilus, commonly called the spark anglemouth, deepsea fangjaw or deepsea lightfish,^[3] is a species of fish in the family Gonostomatidae (anglemouths).^[4]

Sigmops bathyphilus
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Stomiiformes
Family:	Gonostomatidae
Genus:	Sigmops
Species:	S. bathyphilus
Binomial name
Sigmops bathyphilus (Vaillant, 1884)
Synonyms[2]
Cyclothone grandis Vaillant, 1884 Gonostoma bathyphillum Vaillant, 1884 Gonostoma bathyphilum Vaillant, 1884 Gonostoma bathyphylum Vaillant, 1884 Gonostoma brevidens Kner, 1870 Gonostoma grande Collett, 1896 Gonostomia bathyphilum Vaillant, 1884 Neostoma bathyphilum Vaillant, 1884 Sigmops bathyphilum Vaillant, 1884

Description

Drawing by Léon Vaillant, emphasising the fish's sharp teeth

Sigmops bathyphilus is black in colour, with a maximum length of 20 cm (7.9 in) for the female and 15 cm (5.9 in) for the male. It has 11–15 dorsal soft rays and 22–26 anal soft rays.^[5] It has very small photophores.^[6] It has a few enlarged teeth on the roof of the mouth.^[7]

Habitat

Sigmops bathyphilus lives in the Atlantic Ocean, southern Indian Ocean, off the south coast of Australia and South Pacific Ocean.^[8] It is bathypelagic, living at depths of 700–3,000 m (2,300–9,800 ft), hence its specific name, from Greek words meaning "depth-loving".^[5][9]

Behaviour

Sigmops bathyphilus undergoes sex reversal (from male to female) at a length of 5–10 cm (2.0–3.9 in), with females spawning once they reach 11 cm (4.3 in). Some individuals are "super males", who do not change sex and are the principal spawners.^[5][10]

References

1. Harold, Anthony (July 15, 2014). "IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Sigmops bathyphilus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
2. "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Sigmops bathyphilus (Vaillant, 1884)". www.marinespecies.org.
3. Committee, Flora and Fauna of South Australia Handbooks (July 10, 1994). The Fishes of Australia's South Coast. State Print. ISBN 9780724366057 – via Google Books.
4. Nations, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United (August 1, 2020). Identification guide to the mesopelagic fishes of the central and south east Atlantic Ocean. Food & Agriculture Org. ISBN 9789251330944 – via Google Books.
5. "Sigmops bathyphilus, Spark anglemouth". www.fishbase.se.
6. "Sigmops bathyphilus". fishesofaustralia.net.au.
7. "Sigmops bathyphilus | NBN Atlas". species.nbnatlas.org.
8. "Sigmops bathyphilus (Vaillant, 1884)". www.gbif.org.
9. "Australian Faunal Directory". biodiversity.org.au.
10. Sutton, Tracey T.; Bracken-Grissom, Heather; Lopez, Jose V.; Vecchione, Michael; Youngbluth, Marsh J. (May 3, 2021). Deep Pelagic Ecosystem Dynamics in a Highly Impacted Water Column: The Gulf of Mexico After Deepwater Horizon. Frontiers Media SA. ISBN 9782889667161 – via Google Books.