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Himantolophidae

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Also known as footballfish

The footballfish form a family, Himantolophidae, of globose, deep-sea anglerfishes found in tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Ocean. The family contains 23 species, all of which are classified in a single genus, Himantolophus.

Wikidata facts

Instance of
monotypic taxon
Parent taxon
Lophiiformes
Image
Himantolophus sp.jpg
Show 4 more facts
taxon name
Himantolophidae
taxon rank
family
Commons category
Himantolophus
topic's main category
Category:Himantolophidae
Sources (1)

via Wikidata · CC0

~6 min read

Encyclopedic overview

9 sections
Contents
  • Etymology
  • Taxonomy
  • Species and [[species groups]]
  • Characteristics
  • Distribution and habitat
  • Biology
  • Further reading
  • Gallery
  • References

The footballfish form a family, Himantolophidae, of globose, deep-sea anglerfishes found in tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Ocean. The family contains 23 species, all of which are classified in a single genus, Himantolophus.

==Etymology== The football fish family and genus names are derived from a combination of himantos, which means a "leather strap", "thong" or "leash", with lophus, meaning "crest" or "tuft". Reinhardt did not explain this name but it is thought to refer to the thick, leathery illicium of the type species, H. groenlandicus.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Himantolophidae” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.