Himantolophus cornifer
No common name
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Lophiiformes (Anglerfish)
Himantolophidae (Footballfishes)
Himantolophus
Himantolophus cornifer
Description
This species account was compiled from
FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2025. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version 04/2025.)
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Characters
Body shape: short and / or deep. Distinguishing characteristics of metamorphosed female: length of illicium 29-35% SL; each primary branch of distal escal appendage with posterior side branch situated near base; length of distal escal appendage increasing from 9% SL in 2.7 cm specimens to 54% SL in 5.2 cm specimen and 72% SL in 9 cm specimen; posterior side branch of distal escal appendage length increasing from 4.3% SL in 2.7 cm specimens to 30% SL in 5.2-9 cm specimens; distal escal appendage lacking small dermal spinules (Ref. 86949).
Distribution
Western Indian Ocean: Natal, South Africa. Also known from the western and central Pacific and northwestern and central Atlantic.
Habitat Associations
Marine. bathypelagic. depth range 0-1900 m.
Biology
Males unknown (Ref. 40877). Minimum depth from Ref. 58018. Most recent record was from 29°25'S that was recovered from the stomach of a beached sperm whale (Ref. 85522).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2009-02-04.
References
Anderson, M.E. and R.W. Leslie (2001) Review of the deep-sea anglerfishes (Lophiiformes: Ceratioidei) of southern Africa. Ichthyological Bulletin of the J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology 70:30 p.
Bertelsen, E. and G. Krefft (1988) The ceratioid family Himantolophidae (Pisces, Lophiiformes). Steenstrupia, Vol. 14(2), pp. 9-89.
Pietsch, T.W. (2009) Oceanic anglerfishes. Extraordinary diversity in the deep sea. Oceanic Anglerfishes, i-xii; 1-557pp.
Comments On Himantolophus cornifer