Ipnopidae

{{Short description|Family of fishes}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Expl7094 (9734695219).jpg | image_caption = ''Ipnops'', the type genus | image2 = Bathypterois dubius1.jpg | image2_caption = Mediterranean spiderfish (''Bathypterois dubius'') | taxon = Ipnopidae | authority = T. N. Gill, 1884 | subdivision_ranks = Genera | subdivision = ''Bathymicrops''<br/> ''Bathypterois''<br/> ''Bathytyphlops''<br/> ''Ipnops'' }}

The '''Ipnopidae''' ('''deepsea tripod fishes''') are a family of fishes in the order Aulopiformes. They are small, slender fishes, with maximum length ranging from about {{convert|10|to|40|cm|in|abbr=on}}. They are found in temperate and tropical deep waters of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. Abiotic factors, such as depth, temperature, dissolved oxygen concentration, pressure, and carbon concentration can all impact their distribution. <ref>{{cite journal|author=Cruz-Acevedo, E.|author2= Betancourt-Lozano, M.|author3= Aguirre-Villaseñor, H.|year=2016|title= Distribution of the deep-sea genus ''Bathypterois'' (Pisces: Ipnopidae) in the Eastern Central Pacific|journal= Revista de Biologia Tropical |volume=65|issue=1|pages= 89–101|doi=10.15517/rbt.v65il.23726|doi-broken-date= 29 May 2026|pmid= 29466631}}</ref>

A number of species, especially in the genus ''Bathypterois'', have elongated pectoral and pelvic fins. In the case of the tripodfish, ''Bathypterois grallator'', these fins are three times as long as the body — up to a meter in length — and are used for standing on the sea floor. Ipnopids either have tiny eyes, or very large eyes that lack any lens; in either case they have very poor vision and are unable to form an image.<ref name=EoF>{{cite book |editor=Paxton, J.R. |editor2=Eschmeyer, W.N.|author1=Johnson, R.K. |author2=Eschmeyer, W.N.|year=1998|title=Encyclopedia of Fishes|publisher= Academic Press|location=San Diego|page= 125|isbn= 0-12-547665-5}}</ref> Ipnopidae is a species of fish that have adapted to living in the deep. Their skeleton is flatter with reinforced bony heads on its fin rays and its pelvic fins are located through the tips of the pectoral fin rays.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Prirodina, V. P. |author2= Neyelov, A. V. |year=2020|title= The Osteological Features of ''Ipnops agassizii'' Garman, 1899 (Aulopiformes: Ipnopidae) from Bathyal and Ultra-Abyssal Depths of the Australia–New Zealand Region, with Remarks on the Biogeographical Significance of these Findings|journal= Russian Journal of Marine Biology|volume= 46|issue=1|pages= 22–28 |doi=10.1134/S106307402001006X |bibcode= 2020RuJMB..46...22P }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Angulo, A.|author2= Bussing, W. A.|author3= López, M. I. |year=2015|title= Occurrence of the tripodfish ''Bathypterois ventralis'' (Aulopiformes: Ipnopidae) in the Pacific coast of Costa Rica|journal= Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad|volume= 86|issue=2 |pages=546–549|doi=10.1016/j.rmb.2015.04.025}}</ref><ref>"Tripod Fish." Nature (London), vol. 240, no. 5379, 1972, pp. 284–284.</ref>

==References== {{Portal|fish}} {{Reflist}} * {{FishBase family | family = Ipnopidae | month = April| year = 2012}}

Category:Ipnopidae Category:Taxa named by Theodore Gill Category:Aulopiformes families