Halieutichthys is a genus of marine Actinopterygii belonging to the family Ogcocephalidae, the deep-sea batfishes or sea bats. The fishes in this genus are found in the western Atlantic Ocean.
Taxonomy
Haleutichthys was first proposed as a monospecific genus in 1863 by the Cuban
zoologist Felipe Poey when he described
Halieutichthys reticulatus,
[ the type locality was given as off Cuba. H. reticulatus is now considered to be a junior synonym of Lophius aculeatus which had been described by Samuel Mitchill in 1818.]
Etymology
Halieutichthys combines the genus name Halieutaea, for the similarity of these fishes to the species in that genus, and ichthys, the Greek word for "fish".
Species
Halieutichthys currently contains four recognized species:|
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| western Atlantic, North Carolina, northern Gulf of Mexico to northern South America |
| Gulf of Mexico |
| Western central Atlantic: Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. |
| Gulf of Mexico |
|
Characteristics
Halieutichthys batfishes have a flattened head and body which are widened into a rounded disc, with a moderately long tail. The mouth is very small, as is the illicial cavity on the snout which is covered by puffy, membranous folds. The esca is a single bulb. The are covered. There is a buckler at the angle of the preoperculum which is not larger than the nearby bucklers. The openings of the gills are small and they are located to the rear of the upper base of the . The are similar to small teeth set on short stalks. They have small dorsal fin and which are located to the rear of the body. The bases of the have a wide attachment to the body and the are not reduced in size. The lateral line is complete and there are a pair of lateral line organs on the caudal peduncle just in front of the anus. There are no tubercles along the lateral line. The scales are large, irregular and pitted, resembling small shields. The adults are scaleless on the underside of the body and large areas of the upperside are also without scales.[
]
Distribution and habitat
Halieutichthys batfishes are found in the Western Atlantic Ocean. The aculeatus species group is found in the Gulf of Mexico and the southeastern coasts of the United States while H. cariibaeus is found in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. These fishes are found on sandy substrates at depths between .[
]
