Fangtooth
genus of fishes
Fangtooths are beryciform fish of the family Anoplogastridae (sometimes spelled "Anoplogasteridae") that live in the deep sea. The name comes from Ancient Greek ἄνοπλος (ánoplos), meaning "shieldless", and γαστήρ (gastḗr), meaning "belly". With a worldwide distribution in tropical and cold-temperate waters, the family contains only two very similar species in one genus, with no known close relatives.
Species
The currently recognized species in this genus are:
Anoplogaster brachycera (Kotlyar, 1986) (shorthorn fangtooth)
Anoplogaster cornuta (Valenciennes, 1833) (common fangtooth)
Description
Fangtooths are named for their disproportionately large, fang-like teeth and unapproachable visage, although they are quite small and harmless to humans. The larger of the two species, the common fangtooth, reaches a maximum length of just 16 cm (6.3 in); the shorthorn fangtooth is less than half this size though currently known only from juvenile specimens.
Anoplogaster cornuta are in the smaller size range of fishes. They are well known for their large sharp teeth when having their jaws closed. With the help of their teeth they are able to kill fishes much larger than themselves. The head is small with a large jaw and appears haggard, riddled with mucous cavities delineated by serrated edges and covered by a thin skin. The eyes are relatively small, set high on the head; the entire head is a dark brown to black and is strongly compressed laterally, deep anteriorly and progressively more slender towards the tail.
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This entry incorporates text from “Fangtooth” 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.