Stylephorus
Genus of ray-finned fishes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Stylephorus chordatus, the tube-eye or thread-tail, is a deep-sea ray-finned fish, the only species in the genus Stylephorus and family Stylephoridae.[1][2]
| Stylephorus | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Gadiformes |
| Suborder: | Stylephoroidei |
| Family: | Stylephoridae Regan, 1924 |
| Genus: | Stylephorus G. Shaw, 1791 |
| Species: | S. chordatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Stylephorus chordatus G. Shaw, 1791 | |
 | |
The phylogenetic position of the tube-eye has been controversial. It has been historically placed amongst Lampriformes, but a study involving mitochondrial and nuclear DNA[3] sequences analysis suggested Stylephorus is instead a close relative of the order Gadiformes (cods and hakes). Formerly placed in its own order Stylephoriformes, it is presently considered the most basal member of the Gadiformes by Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes.[4]
It is found in deep subtropical and tropical oceans around the world, living at depths during the day and making nightly vertical migrations to feed on plankton. It is an extremely elongated fish; although its body grows only to 28 cm (11 in) long, its pair of tail fin rays triple its length to about 90 cm (35 in). Its eyes are tubular in shape, resembling a pair of binoculars.[5]
It has a tubular mouth through which it sucks seawater by enlarging its oral cavity to about 40 times its original size. It then expels the water through the gills, leaving behind the copepods on which it feeds.[5]
