Bathyphylax

{{Short description|Genus of fishes}} {{Automatic taxobox | taxon = Bathyphylax | authority = G. S. Myers, 1934 | type_species = ''Bathyphylax bombifrons'' | type_species_authority = Myers, 1934 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = See text }}

'''''Bathyphylax''''' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Triacanthodidae, the spikefishes. The fishes in this genus are found in the deep waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

==Taxonomy== '''''Bathyphylax''''' was first proposed as a monospecific genus in 1935 by the American ichthyologist George S. Myers when he described ''Bathyphylax bombifrons'', which he also designated as its type species.<ref name = CofF>{{Cof family|family=Triacanthodidae|access-date=1 September 2024}}</ref> When Myers described ''B. bombifrons'' he gave its type locality given as the "China Sea" off Hong Kong.<ref>{{Cof genus|genus=Bathyphylax|access-date=1 September 2024}}</ref> In 1968 the American ichthyologist James C. Tyler classified this genus in the nominate subfamily of the family Triacanthodidae, the Triacanthodinae.<ref name="SantiniTyler2003">{{cite journal |author=Franceso Santini|author2=James C. Tyler |title=A phylogeny of the families of fossil and extant tetraodontiform fishes (Acanthomorpha, Tetraodontiformes), Upper Cretaceous to Recent |journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=139 |issue=4 |year=2003 |pages=565–617 |doi=10.1111/j.1096-3642.2003.00088.x}}</ref> The 5th edition of ''Fishes of the World'' classifies the family Triacanthodidae in the suborder Triacanthoidei in the order Tetraodontiformes.<ref name = Nelson5>{{cite book |author1=Nelson, J.S. |author1-link=Joseph S. Nelson |author2=Grande, T.C. |author3=Wilson, M.V.H. |year=2016 |title=Fishes of the World |edition=5th |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |place=Hoboken, NJ |pages=518–526 |isbn=978-1-118-34233-6 |lccn=2015037522 |oclc=951899884 |ol=25909650M |doi=10.1002/9781119174844}}</ref>

==Etymology== ''Bathyphylax'' is a compound of ''bathy'', meaning "deep", and ''phylax'', which means "guard", an allusion which Myers did not explain but it may refer to the depth the holotype of ''B. bombifrons'' was collected at and its large eyes, metaphorically all seeing. The specific name of the type species combines ''bombus'', meaning "humming" or "buzzing" with ''frons'', which means "forehead". This is an allusion to the tube-like snout, resembling a wind instrument. The specific ephithets of the other two species are; ''omen'', which means "prophecy" or "augury", and refers to the species so named being a "precursor" of the longs snouted ''Halimochirurgus''; and the eponym ''pruvosti'', which honours Patrice Pruvost who was the manager of the ichthyological collection at Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle in Paris who mad e material form the museum's collection available to the species author, Frenceso Santini.<ref name = ETYFFish>{{cite web |url=https://etyfish.org/tetraodontiformes1/ |title=Order TETRAODONTIFORMES: Families TRIODONTIDAE, TRIACANTHIDAE, TRIACANTHODIDAE, DIODONTIDAE and TETRAODONTIDAE |date=21 August 2024 |access-date=28 August 2024 |author=Christopher Scharpf |publisher=Christopher Scharpf}}</ref>

==Species== There are currently three recognized species in this genus:<ref name="Matsuura2014"/> * ''Bathyphylax bombifrons'' G. S. Myers, 1934 (Boomer spikefish) * ''Bathyphylax omen'' J. C. Tyler, 1966 * ''Bathyphylax pruvosti'' Santini, 2006

==Characteristics== ''Bathphylax'' spike fishes have a flat lower surface to the pelvis, the pelvis tapers to a point to the rear being much broader between the spines of the pelvic fins and at its rear, this feature places the genus in the subfamily Triacanthodinae, and it is around twice as long as it is wide. They have a snout which is shorter than the length of the head and of the diameter of the orbit but the smout is longer than the distance between the upper eye and the gill cover. They have conical teeth arranged in a singlet series without any isolated inner teeth. In the dorsal fin the spines decrease in length suddentlu with the rear spines being much smaller than the front spines with the fifth and sixth spines just protruding through the skin, although they can be clearly seen, when the first spine is depressed it extends as far as thetip of the sixth. The dorsal profile of the head is concave.<ref name = Santini2003>{{cite thesis |last=Santini |first=Francesco |date=2003 |title=Phylogeny and biogeography of the Triacanthodidae (Tetraodontiformes, Teleostei) |url=https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/119700/3/NQ78491_OCR.pdf |degree=PhD |chapter= |publisher=University of Toronto |access-date=1 May 2024}}</ref> These fishes have maximum published standard lengths of {{cvt|9.3|cm}} for ''B. bombifrons'', {{cvt|9.4|cm}} for ''B. omen'' and {{cvt|11.9|cm}} for ''B. pruvosti''.<ref name = Fishbase>{{FishBase genus|genus=Bathyphylax|month=June|year=2024}}</ref>

==Distribution and habitat== Bathyphylax spike fishes are found in the Indo-Pacific region with ''B. bombifrons'' being known from waters off Kenya, off Hng Kong, Australia and New Caledonia, ''B. omen'' has only been recorded from off Kenya and off Japan, while ''B. pruvosti'' from the Marquesas Islands.<ref name="Matsuura2014">{{cite journal |last=Matsuura |first=K. |year=2014 |title=Taxonomy and systematics of tetraodontiform fishes: a review focusing primarily on progress in the period from 1980 to 2014. |journal=Ichthyological Research |volume=62 |issue=1 |pages=72–113 |doi=10.1007/s10228-014-0444-5|doi-access=free |bibcode=2015IchtR..62...72M }}</ref><ref name = Matsuura2021>{{cite journal |author=Matsuura, K. |author2=H. Endo |name-list-style=and |author3=A. Ujihara |year=2021 |title=First record of ''Bathyphylax omen'' Tyler, 1966 from the Western Pacific (Actinopterygii, Tetraodontiformes, Triacanthodidae) |journal=Bulletin of the National Museum of Nature and Science, Series A |volume=47 |issue=1 |pages=37–42 |doi=10.50826/bnmnszool.47.1_37}}</ref> These bathydemersal species have been recorded at depths between {{cvt|108|and|615|m}}.<ref name = Fishbase/>

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:Triacanthodinae Category:Taxa named by George S. Myers Category:Actinopterygii genera