Careproctus kamikawai
Species of fish
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Careproctus kamikawai, the arbiter snailfish, is a species of snailfish in the family Liparidae, found in the lower parts of the eastern central Pacific Ocean near California. This creature is a benthopelagic carnivore, meaning it hunts for food, such as crustaceans, near the bottom of the ocean. There, it lives 1,535 to 4,590 feet below the surface. The species was first described by American fisheries biologist James Wilder Orr in 2012, naming the species after Dan J. Kamikawa who collected the holotype. From Orr's description, the snailfish is characterized as having tiny trilobed teeth, a small suction disk on its belly that helps it stick to rocks, and a tadpole-like body.[1][2][3][4]
| Arbiter snailfish | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Suborder: | Cottoidei |
| Family: | Liparidae |
| Genus: | Careproctus |
| Species: | C. kamikawai |
| Binomial name | |
| Careproctus kamikawai Orr, 2012 | |
Offspring
An arbiter snailfish lays 20 to 25 unusually large yolked eggs at a time if it is ready to release its eggs. The eggs have a diameter around 3.5 to 4.5 millimeters. There are also eggs that are from 0.5 to 1.5 millimeters in diameter, and those small eggs are the ones that the females have that can come up to 850 small, immature eggs that grow later over time. For an arbiter snailfish, its first size of eggs are unusually large for it to have since it's a small animal.
Lifespan
The arbiter snailfish's exact lifespan is unknown, but researchers estimate other creatures in the Careproctus genus to have a lifespan that ranges from 10 to 25 years, which they think provides good information for an arbiter snailfish's exact lifespan. Scientists use the animal's nearest relatives' life history and use models of the arbiter snailfish's size. Since some snailfish live in high-disturbance areas, their lifespans are shorter because so many changes are happening there. Scientists also use the snailfish's otoliths to see how long the snailfish has lived, because like a tree, the otolith grows by adding layers.
Characteristics and behavior
The characteristics of an arbiter snailfish are a tadpole-like body, and the body tapers down into a very slender tail. It also has a suction disk that helps it stick to rocks when needed. Instead of scales, the arbiter snailfish has loose, gelatinous skin, which can look pale pink to red-orange. They have trilobed teeth, which means every tooth they have has three points. An arbiter snailfish can grow up to 7 inches (18 cm).
