Family Bythitidae
Taxonomy: Family with more than 140 species in about 40 genera; currently, 26 described species in 15 genera are known from Australian waters. The most easily identifiable species are from coral or rocky reef habitats.
Distribution, ecology and habitat: Worldwide, marine, rare in fresh or brackish waters; benthic mostly in shallow reef areas, others on continental shelf and slope, several species at abyssal depths, several to about 2000 metres. Some species inhabit caves and sinkholes.
Characteristics:
Body elongate, eye small, anterior nostril immediately above upper lip mouth large, opercle usually with strong spine, first gill arch rarely with more than 7 long rakers, head pores present. Dorsal and anal fins long-based, continuous with caudal fin in subfamily Bythitinae, separate from caudal in Brosmophycinae; pelvic fins reduced, slightly before pectoral fin base, with single ray or absent. Scales, swim bladder and pyloric caecae present. Male copulatory organ variable.
Size: Reach 2 m in length, but most attain a small size; many coral reef species only reach 5-10 cm.
Food and feeding: Known to feed on a range of invertebrates and fishes; some species feed mostly on small benthic crustaceans (amphipods and isopods) and polychaete worms.
Reproduction and early life history: Ovoviparous, with males possessing a copulatory organ for internal fertilization. Larvae rare, some collected near bottom, others epieplagic. Larvae generally unspecialised with a short pelagic phase; gut short, coiled, dorsal and anal fins long-based, some species relatively large at birth.
Fisheries: none
Remarks: Some species inhabit fresh to highly saline limestone caves and sink-holes and are blind or partially blind.
Australian species:
- Acarobythites larsonae Machida, 2000 Larson's Cusk CAAB 37228054
- Beaglichthys macrophthalmus Machida, 1993 Beagle Cusk CAAB 37228039
- Brosmolus longicaudus Machida, 1993 Longtail Cusk CAAB 37228040
- Brosmophyciops pautzkei Schultz, 1960 Slimy Cusk CAAB 37228016
- Cataetyx niki Cohen, 1981 Brown Brotula CAAB 37228018
- Dermatopsis macrodon Ogilby, 1896 Eastern Yellow Blindfish CAAB 37228020
- Dermatopsis multiradiatus McCulloch & Waite, 1918 Slender Blindfish CAAB 37228021
- Diancistrus alleni Schwarzhans, Møller & Nielsen, 2005 Dwarf Lefteye Flounder CAAB 37228089
- Diancistrus beateae Schwarzhans, Møller & Nielsen, 2005 Angler Flatfish CAAB 37228090
- Diancistrus jeffjohnsoni Schwarzhans, Møller & Nielsen, 2005 Bleeker's Flounder CAAB 37228091
- Diancistrus leisi Schwarzhans, Møller & Nielsen, 2005 Flowery Flounder CAAB 37228092
- Diancistrus longifilis Ogilby, 1899 Twinhook Cusk CAAB 37228022
- Diancistrus mcgroutheri Schwarzhans, Møller & Nielsen, 2005 Leopard Flounder CAAB 37228093
- Diancistrus novaeguineae (Machida, 1996) Chain-mail Flounder CAAB 37228094
- Dinematichthys dasyrhynchus Cohen & Hutchins, 1982 Shaggy Cusk CAAB 37228024
- Dinematichthys megasoma Machida, 1994 Robust Cusk CAAB 37228042
- Dinematichthys riukiuensis Aoyagi, 1954 Bigeye Cusk CAAB 37228043
- Diplacanthopoma kreffti Cohen & Nielsen, 2002 Deepbody Cusk CAAB 37228064
- Dipulus caecus Waite, 1905 Orange Eelpout CAAB 37228026
- Fiordichthys paxtoni (Nielsen & Cohen, 1986) Baldhead Cusk CAAB 37228030
- Hastatobythites arafurensis Machida, 1997 Spinyhead Cusk CAAB 37228047
- Microbrotula polyactis Anderson, 2005 Many-ray Cusk CAAB 37228087
- Microbrotula queenslandica Anderson, 2005 Queensland Cusk CAAB 37228088
- Monothrix mizolepis (Günther, 1867) Smalleye Cusk CAAB 37228032
- Monothrix polylepis Ogilby, 1897 Littoral Cusk CAAB 37228033
- Saccogaster tuberculata (Chan, 1966) Bagbelly Cusk CAAB 37228037
References:
Cohen, D.M. 1986. Family 98: Bythitidae, pp. 354-356 In Smith, M.M. & P.C. Heemstra. Smiths' Sea Fishes. J.L.B. Smith Inst. Ichthyol. Grahamstown, South Africa.
Fahay, M.P. & J.A. Hare. 2006. Ch. 49 Order Ophidiiformes: Aphyonidae, Bythitidae, Ophidiidae, p. 661 In W.J. Richards (ed). Early Stages Of Atlantic Fishes: An Identification Guide For The Western Central North Atlantic. CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Group, Boca Raton, FL, 2640 pp.
Gordon, D.J., D.F. Markle & J.E. Olney. 1984. Order Ophidiiformes, pp. 308-319 In Moser H.G., W.J. Richards, D.M. Cohen, M.P. Fahay, A.W. Kendall, Jr. & S.L. Richardson (eds). Ontogeny and Systematics of Fishes. Am. Soc. Ichthyol. Herpetol. Spec. Publ. No. 1. 760 pp.
Leis, J.M. & D. Rennis. 2000. Family Bythitidae, In Leis, J.M. & B.M. Carson-Ewart. (eds). The larvae of Indo-Pacific coastal fishes. An identification guide to marine fish larvae. (Fauna Malesiana Handbooks 2). E.J. Brill, Leiden. 870 pp.
Machida, Y. 1993. Two new genera and species of the subfamily Brosmophycinae (Bythitidae, Ophidiiformes) from northern Australia. Jpn. J. Ichthyol. 39(4): 281-286.
Machida, Y. 2000. A new bythitid genus and species, Acarobythites larsonae, from shallow rocky reefs off northern Australia (Pisces, Ophidiiformes, Bythitidae). The Beagle (Rec. Mus. Art Galleries N. Terr.) 16: 123-126.
Møller, P.R. & W. Schwarzhans. 2006. Review of the Dinematichthyini (Teleostei, Bythitidae) of the Indo-west Pacific. Part II. Dermatopsis, Dermatopsoides and Dipulus with description of six new species. The Beagle (Rec. Mus. Art Galleries N. Terr.) 22: 39-76.
Møller, P.R., Schwarzhans, W. & Nielsen, J.G. 2004. Review of the American Dinematichthyini (Teleostei: Bythitidae). Part I. Dinematichthys, Gunterichthys, Typhliasina and two new genera. Aqua, J. Ichthyol. Aquat. Biol. 8(4): 141–192.
Moser, H.G. (ed.) 1996. The Early Stages of Fishes in the California Current Region. CalCOFI Atlas No.33 Allen Press Inc, Lawrence, Kansas. 1505 pp.
Nielsen, J.G. & Cohen, D.M. 1999. Family Bythitidae, pp. 94-135 In: Nielsen, J.G., Cohen, D.M., Markle, D.F. & Robins, C.R. (Eds.), FAO Species Catalogue, Vol. 18, Ophidiiform Fishes of the World (Order Ophidiiformes), An annotated and illustrated catalogue of pearlfishes, cusk-eels, brotulas and other ophidiiform species known to date. FAO Fisheries Synopsis No. 125 Vol. 18 178 pp.
Proudlove, G.S. 2006. Subterranean fishes of the World. An account of the subterranean (hypogean) fishes described up to 2003 with a bibliography 1541-2004. International Society for Subterranean Biology, Moulis.
Schwarzhans, W., Møller, P.R. & Nielsen, J.G. 2005. Review of the Dinematichthyini (Teleostei: Bythitidae) of the Indo-West Pacific. Part I. Diancistrus and two new genera with 26 new species. The Beagle Rec. Mus. Art. Gall. N. Terr. 21: 73–163.