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Lophiiformes (Anglerfishes) >
Gigantactinidae (Whipnose anglers)
Etymology: Gigantactis: Greek, 'gigas' or 'gigantos' = gigantic + Greek, 'aktis' = ray (referring to the unusually long first dorsal-fin spine that functions as a lure in this genus) (Ref. 86949).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; bathypelagic; depth range 1000 - 2300 m (Ref. 86949). Deep-water
Atlantic and Pacific: tropical and temperate regions. A single male is known from the Gulf of Guinea.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 22.1 cm (female)
Dorsal soft rays (total): 8 - 10; Anal soft rays: 6 - 8. Characterized by having relatively high number of dorsal fin rays 8-10; metamorphosed females characterized by: having 3 or fewer distal escal filaments, proximal anterolateral group of short filaments, and posterior proximal group of long filaments; first and last dorsal fin rays distinctly longer than intermediate rays; length of illicium less than 120%SL; escal bulb without distal prolongation or papillae; relatively long dentary, in five or six longitudinal series; prolonged first and eighth rays of caudal fin, 60-100%SL. Metamorphosed male: eyes small, diameter 0.45-0.5 mm; olfactory lamellae 11; upper denticular teeth 3; lower denticular teeth 4; skin naked, unpigmented. Larvae: lacking dorsal subdermal pigment (Ref. 86949).
Also mesopelagic (Ref. 10761).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae
Bertelsen, E., 1990. Gigantactinidae. p. 513-515. In J. C. Quero, J. C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 1. (Ref. 10761)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 2.8 - 2.9, mean 2.9 °C (based on 5 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01000 (0.00244 - 0.04107), b=3.04 (2.81 - 3.27), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 4.1 ±0.7 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (20 of 100).