Careproctus

Careproctus
Careproctus rastrinus at Numazu Deepblue Aquarium, Japan
Unidentified Careproctus from the Beaufort Sea
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scorpaeniformes
Family: Liparidae
Genus: Careproctus
Krøyer, 1862
Type species
Liparis reinhardti
Krøyer, 1862
Synonyms
  • Enantioliparis Vaillant, 1888
  • Allochir Jordan & Evermann, 1896
  • Allinectes Jordan & Evermann, 1898
  • Allurus Jordan & Evermann, 1896
  • Caremitra Jordan & Evermann, 1896
  • Careproctula Andriashev, 2003
  • Enantioliparis Vaillant, 1888
  • Prognurus Jordan & Gilbert, 1898

Careproctus is a genus of snailfishes found in benthic and benthopelagic habitats in the Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic and Southern Oceans. Whether they truly are absent from the Indian Ocean (except for a couple of species in Subantarctic waters) is unknown and might be an artifact of limited sampling.[1] They range from shallow coastal seas in the far north of their range to the abyssal zone, at depths of 6 to 5,459 m (20–17,910 ft).[1][2] In the Northern Hemisphere they mostly live shallower than Paraliparis, but this pattern is reversed in the Southern Hemisphere. Although almost entirely restricted to very cold waters, a single species, C. hyaleius, lives at hydrothermal vents.[1]

Its generic name is derived from the Ancient Greek κάρα (kara, "face, head") and πρωκτός (prōktos, "anus"), therefore literally meaning "butt-face".[3]

Careproctus have one pair of nostrils and a ventral suction disc but lack a pseudobranch.[4] They are tadpole-like in shape and reach up to 54 cm (1.8 ft) in standard length, but most species are far smaller.[5] Like other snailfish, they lack scales and have a loose gelatinous skin; a few species are covered in prickly spines.[2]

Most species of Careproctus are poorly known, but they feed on small animals and some have unusual breeding behaviors: At least C. ovigerus appears to be a mouth brooder where the eggs are carried and develop in the males' mouth.[6] C. fulvus has a commensal relationship with glass sponges, laying their eggs in the paragastric cavity.[7] Several other Careproctus species are parasitic on king crabs (at least Lithodes, Neolithodes and Paralithodes, and likely Echidnocerus), laying their egg mass in the gill chamber of the crab, forming a well-protected and well-aerated mobile "home" until they hatch.[1][8][9] As far as known, these parasitic Careproctus are not host specific, but will use various king crab species, and on occasion an individual king crab may even carry the eggs of more than one Careproctus species at the same time.[9] Additionally, small Careproctus—no more than 9 cm (3.5 in) long—have been seen together with Lithodes and Paralomis king crabs, hitching rides by attaching themselves to the crab's legs or back.[1] In contrast, a C. reinhardti (species complex[2]) in an aquarium deposited its eggs on the glass, but whether this resembles its wild behavior is unknown.[10]

Careproctus attenuatus
Careproctus bowersianus
Careproctus furcellus
Careproctus mollis
Careproctus opisthotremus
Careproctus ranula
Careproctus reinhardti
  1. ^ a b c d e Priede, I.G. (2017). Deep-Sea Fishes: Biology, Diversity, Ecology and Fisheries. Cambridge University Press. pp. 260–262. ISBN 978-1-107-08382-0.
  2. ^ a b c Chernova, N.V. (2005). "Review of Careproctus (Liparidae) of the North Atlantic and adjacent Arctic, including the generic type C. reinhardti, with rehabilitation of C. gelatinosus (Pallas) from Kamchatka". Journal of Ichthyology. 45 (1): S1–S22.
  3. ^ "Careproctus merretti, Merret's snailfish". www.fishbase.se.
  4. ^ Careproctus at Marine Species Identification Portal
  5. ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Careproctus". FishBase. June 2019 version.
  6. ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Careproctus ovigerus". FishBase. June 2019 version.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Chernova2014a was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Ahyong, S.T. (2010). "Neolithodes flindersi, a new species of king crab from southeastern Australia (Crustacea: Decapoda: Lithodidae)". Zootaxa. 45 (2362): 55–62. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2362.1.3.
  9. ^ a b Gardner, J.R.; J.W. Orr; D.E. Stevenson; I. Spies; D.A. Somerton (2016). "Reproductive Parasitism between Distant Phyla: Molecular Identification of Snailfish (Liparidae) Egg Masses in the Gill Cavities of King Crabs (Lithodidae)". Copeia. 104 (3): 645–657. doi:10.1643/CI-15-374. S2CID 89241686.
  10. ^ Chernova, N.V. (1991). "Aquarium observations of the snail fishes Careproctus reinhardti and Liparis liparis". Journal of Ichthyology. 31 (9): 65–70.