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Careproctus

{{Short description|Genus of fishes}}

{{Automatic_taxobox

| image= Careproctus rastrinus.JPG

| image_caption = Careproctus rastrinus at Numazu Deepblue Aquarium, Japan

| image2 = Careproctus.jpg

| image2_caption = Unidentified Careproctus from the Beaufort Sea

| taxon = Careproctus

| authority = Krøyer, 1862

| type_species = Liparis reinhardti

| type_species_authority = Krøyer, 1862

| synonyms = {{Genus list

| Enantioliparis | Vaillant, 1888

| Allochir | Jordan & Evermann, 1896

| Allinectes | Jordan & Evermann, 1898

| Allurus | Jordan & Evermann, 1896

| Caremitra | Jordan & Evermann, 1896

| Careproctula | Andriashev, 2003

| Enantioliparis | Vaillant, 1888

| Prognurus | Jordan & Gilbert, 1898

}}

}}

Careproctus is a genus of snailfishes found in benthic and benthopelagic habitats in the Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic and Southern Oceans. Whether they truly are absent from the Indian Ocean (except for a couple of species in Subantarctic waters) is unknown and might be an artifact of limited sampling.{{cite book | author=Priede, I.G. | year=2017 | title=Deep-Sea Fishes: Biology, Diversity, Ecology and Fisheries | pages=260–262 | publisher=Cambridge University Press | isbn=978-1-107-08382-0 }} They range from shallow coastal seas in the far north of their range to the abyssal zone, at depths of {{cvt|6|to(-)|5459|m}}.{{cite journal | author=Chernova, N.V. | year=2005 | title=Review of Careproctus (Liparidae) of the North Atlantic and adjacent Arctic, including the generic type C. reinhardti, with rehabilitation of C. gelatinosus (Pallas) from Kamchatka | journal=Journal of Ichthyology | volume=45 | issue=1 | pages=S1–S22 }} In the Northern Hemisphere they mostly live shallower than Paraliparis, but this pattern is reversed in the Southern Hemisphere. Although almost entirely restricted to very cold waters, a single species, C. hyaleius, lives at hydrothermal vents.

Its generic name is derived from the Ancient Greek κάρα (kara, "face, head") and πρωκτός (prōktos, "anus"), therefore literally meaning "butt-face".{{Cite web|url=https://www.fishbase.se/summary/57255|title=Careproctus merretti, Merret's snailfish|website=www.fishbase.se}}

Careproctus have one pair of nostrils and a ventral suction disc but lack a pseudobranch.[http://species-identification.org/species.php?species_group=fnam&id=875&menuentry=groepen Careproctus at Marine Species Identification Portal] They are tadpole-like in shape and reach up to {{cvt|54|cm|ft|1}} in standard length, but most species are far smaller.{{FishBase genus | genus = Careproctus | month = June | year = 2019 }} Like other snailfish, they lack scales and have a loose gelatinous skin; a few species are covered in prickly spines.

Most species of Careproctus are poorly known, but they feed on small animals and some have unusual breeding behaviors: At least C. ovigerus appears to be a mouth brooder where the eggs are carried and develop in the males' mouth.{{FishBase | genus = Careproctus | species=ovigerus | month = June | year = 2019 }} C. fulvus has a commensal relationship with glass sponges, laying their eggs in the paragastric cavity. Several other Careproctus species are parasitic on king crabs (at least Lithodes, Neolithodes and Paralithodes, and likely Echidnocerus), laying their egg mass in the gill chamber of the crab, forming a well-protected and well-aerated mobile "home" until they hatch.{{cite journal | author=Ahyong, S.T. | year=2010 | title=Neolithodes flindersi, a new species of king crab from southeastern Australia (Crustacea: Decapoda: Lithodidae) | journal=Zootaxa | volume=45 | issue=2362 | pages=55–62 | doi=10.11646/zootaxa.2362.1.3 }}{{cite journal|author1=Gardner, J.R. | author2=J.W. Orr | author3=D.E. Stevenson | author4=I. Spies | author5=D.A. Somerton | year=2016 | title=Reproductive Parasitism between Distant Phyla: Molecular Identification of Snailfish (Liparidae) Egg Masses in the Gill Cavities of King Crabs (Lithodidae) | journal=Copeia | volume=104 | issue=3 | pages=645–657 | doi=10.1643/CI-15-374| s2cid=89241686 }} As far as known, these parasitic Careproctus are not host specific, but will use various king crab species, and on occasion an individual king crab may even carry the eggs of more than one Careproctus species at the same time. Additionally, small Careproctus—no more than {{cvt|9|cm}} long—have been seen together with Lithodes and Paralomis king crabs, hitching rides by attaching themselves to the crab's legs or back. In contrast, a C. reinhardti (species complex) in an aquarium deposited its eggs on the glass, but whether this resembles its wild behavior is unknown.{{cite journal|author=Chernova, N.V. | year=1991 | title=Aquarium observations of the snail fishes Careproctus reinhardti and Liparis liparis | journal=Journal of Ichthyology | volume=31 | issue=9 | pages=65–70 }}

{{multiple image

| direction = vertical

| width = 220

| image1 =Careproctus attenuatus.jpg

| alt1 =

| caption1 =Careproctus attenuatus

| image2 =Careproctus bowersianus.jpg

| alt2 =

| caption2 =Careproctus bowersianus

| image3 =Careproctus furcellus.jpg

| alt3 =

| caption3 =Careproctus furcellus

| image4 =Careproctus mollis.jpg

| alt4 =

| caption4 =Careproctus mollis

| image5 =Careproctus opisthotremus.jpg

| alt5 =

| caption5 =Careproctus opisthotremus

| image6 =Careproctus ranula.jpg

| alt6 =

| caption6 =Careproctus ranula

| image7 =Careproctus reinhardti.jpg

| alt7 =

| caption7 =Careproctus reinhardti

}}

Species

There are currently about 125 recognized species in this genus,{{Cof genus | genus = Careproctus | access-date = 7 June 2019 }} but new species are regularly described and it is likely to actually contain more than 140.{{Cite journal|last1=Orr|first1=James W.|last2=Pitruk|first2=Dmitry L.|last3=Manning|first3=Rachel|last4=Stevenson|first4=Duane E.|last5=Gardner|first5=Jennifer R.|last6=Spies|first6=Ingrid|date=2020-11-20|title=A New Species of Snailfish (Cottiformes: Liparidae) Closely Related to Careproctus melanurus of the Eastern North Pacific|journal=Copeia|volume=108|issue=4|doi=10.1643/CI2020008|issn=0045-8511|doi-access=free}} It formerly also included the species now separated in the genus Volodichthys.{{cite journal|author=Balushkin, A.V. | year=2012 | title=Volodichthys gen. nov. New Species of the Primitive Snailfish (Liparidae: Scorpaeniformes) of the Southern Hemisphere. Description of New Species V. solovjevae sp. nov. (Cooperation Sea, the Antarctic) | journal=Journal of Ichthyology | volume=52 | issue=1 | pages=1–10 | doi=10.1134/S0032945212010018 | s2cid=12642696 }}

References

{{Reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q146193}}

Category:Liparidae

Category:Marine fish genera

Category:Taxa named by Henrik Nikolai Krøyer