Ipnops

Taxobox
name = "Ipnops"


image_width =
image_caption =
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Actinopterygii
ordo = Aulopiformes
familia = Ipnopidae
genus = "Ipnops"
genus_authority = Günther, 1878
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision =
*"I. agassizii" - grideye fish
*"I. meadi"
*"I. murrayi"
synonyms = "Ipnoceps" Fowler 1943
"Lychnoculus" Murray 1877

"Ipnops" is a genus of deep-sea fish in the family Ipnopidae, which also includes the better-known tripod fish. "Ipnops" are small, slender fish that live close to the ocean floor in the bathyal and abyssal zones. The genus is notable for its unusual eyes.

Distribution

Specimens of "I. murrayi" and "I. agassizi" have been caught at depths of 1392-3475 m; "I. murrayi" occurs in the Atlantic Ocean while "I. agassizi" occurs in the Indo-Pacific region. "I. meadi" is also found in the Indo-Pacific, but occurs deeper at 3310-4970 m.

Biology

"Ipnops" has never been observed in the wild, so details of their life history must be inferred from the characteristics of captured specimens. They have large mouths with numerous small teeth for swallowing large prey, as well as well-developed gill rakers for capturing smaller items. Examination of stomach contents show a diet of mostly crustaceans and polychaete worms. Their eyes are extremely modified into flat, cornea-like organs that cover most of the upper surface of the head. The purpose of these structures is debated -- they are light-sensitive and may serve to detect bioluminescent prey; it has also been proposed that the organs themselves may be luminescent and act as lures. "Ipnops" have a well-developed lateral line, which has been suggested to have a primary sensory function given the degenerate state of their other senses.

Like other bathypteroid fishes, "Ipnops" is hermaphroditic, with male and female gonads combined into a single organ. External fertilization is likely, possibly with ripe eggs held by the pelvic fins to facilitate fertilization. The capture of multiple specimens in single trawls suggests that these fishes may live in aggregates.

References

*cite book |last=Ellis |first=Richard |title=Deep Atlantic: Life, Death, and Exploration in the Abyss |year=1996 |publisher=The Lyons Press |location=New York, NY|isbn=1-55821-663-4
*FishBase genus | genus = Ipnops | year = 2008 | month = October
*cite journal| last = Nielsen| first = Jørgen G. | title = Synopsis of the Ipnopidae (Pisces, Iniomi) with descriptions of two new abyssal species | journal = Galathea Rep | volume = 8 | pages = 49–79 | date = 1966 | url = http://www.zmuc.dk/InverWeb/Galathea/Pdf_filer/Volume_08/galathea-vol.08-pp_049-076.pdf | accessdate = 2008-10-08