Bathypterois filiferus
species of fish
Bathypterois filiferus, commonly known as bighanded feelerfish, is a species of deep sea tripod fish in the family Ipnopidae. It is related to the more well-known Bathypterois grallator and is a member of the subgenus Bathycygnus, lacking a subcaudal notch. The species is known off the coast of South Africa, Brazil, and Australia at a depth of 1,055–2,835 m (3,460–9,300 ft).
Description
The bighanded feelerfish, like other tripod fish, bears a streamlined body with highly modified pectoral fins; they are not connected by a membrane like in other species of fish. The first two pectoral fin rays are united, parting at the tip, giving the appearance of a bifid fin ray. The uppermost pectoral fin ray is described as "very long" and "nearly twice the length of the body, reaching far beyond the tip of the caudal."
Their pelvic fins are highly modified as well, as with all tripod fish. They are long and stiffened, with this species having longer pelvic fins than most others of the genus. Curiously, the outer two pectoral fin rays are independent of one another.
The species has 14-16 dorsal fin rays, 9-10 anal fin rays, 8 pelvic fin rays, and 13-16 pectoral fin rays. No count of caudal fin rays was given.
“Bathypterois filiferus” enters the record as species of fish. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Bathypterois, filiferus and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2117753. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Bathypterois filiferus” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.