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Known material extremely similar in nearly all characters; distal and posterior escal appendages darkly pigmented except at tips; undivided proximal half of short distal escal appendage conical in shape, distal part bifurcated, branches simple in holotype, extreme distal tips secondarily bifurcated in paratype; posterior escal appendage bifurcated near base, each branch simple; single pair of filamentous illicial appendages situated 2 or 3 times diameter of escal bulb below base of posterior escal appendages; small dermal spinules present on stem of illicium and base of escal bulb; papillae of snout and chin well developed, those situated medially unpigmented or nearly so; skin of body and fin rays uniformly dark; 3–7 large dermal spines present on lobe of pectoral fin, about 50 spines on each side of body; dorsal-fin rays 5; anal-fin rays 4; pectoral-fin rays 16 or 17.
Metamorphosed females of H. nigricornis differ from those of the only other species of the H. nigricornis-group in having the following combination of character states: length of illicium 70–87% SL; each primary branch of posterior escal appendage simple, total length 4.0–4.5% SL; a single pair of posterolateral appendages on stem of illicium, length 1.0–2.1% SL.
The three known specimens of H. nigricornis were all collected in the Pacific Ocean, the holotype and SIO specimen from off Southern California, and the paratype from the Central North Pacific near Wake Island.
Pietsch TW. 2009. Oceanic Anglerfishes: Extraordinary Diversity in the Deep Sea. Berkley: University of California Press. 638 p.
Juvenile and adult females of the H. nigricornis-group differ from those of other species of the genus in having the following combination of character states: The distal light-guiding escal appendage is undivided proximally, but bifurcated distally, its total length less than 5% SL, shorter than the diameter of the escal bulb. The distal escal swellings are more-or-less distinctly divided into four lobes. An anterior escal appendage is absent. The posterior escal appendage is divided near its base into a pair of primary branches, each simple or bifurcating once or twice. The total length of the posterior escal appendages is 4–13% SL. The proximal parts of the distal and posterior escal appendages are darkly pigmented. A posterolateral pair of appendages is present on the stem of the illicium, situated 1–3 times the diameter of the escal bulb below the base of the posterior escal appendage; each is simple or bifurcated distally. As many as 5 additional appendages may be present on and at the base of the illicial stem. Small dermal spinules are present on the illicial stem and on the base of the escal bulb in specimens 145–195 mm. The papillae of the snout and chin are well developed except in some small specimens (i.e., the 35-mm specimen of H. melanolophus; UF 40805). “White patches” on the body are indistinct or absent. The caudal-fin rays of juvenile specimens are pigmented distally, the proximal parts spotted irregularly, but black in larger specimens.
Known from three metamorphosed females at 145–195 mm SL.
VELERO IV, San Clemente Basin, about 33°N, 118°W, in deep water," 5 September 1980."
Holotype of Himantolophus nigricornis: LACM 42697-1, 145 mm SL.
Himantolophus nigricornis is a species of footballfish, a type of anglerfish. The fish is bathypelagic and is endemic to the central Pacific Ocean.[1]
Himantolophus nigricornis is a species of footballfish, a type of anglerfish. The fish is bathypelagic and is endemic to the central Pacific Ocean.
