Leftvent

Leftvents are small, deep-sea lophiiform

fish comprising the family Linophrynidae
distributed throughout tropical to
subtropical waters of all oceans.
 Leftvents
Temporal range: Late Miocene to recent
PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K PN

[1] g

Linophryne lucifer

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Actinopterygii

Order: Lophiiformes

Family: Linophrynidae
Regan, 1926

Genera

Acentrophryne
Acentrophryne
Borophryne
Haplophryne
Linophryne
Photocorynus

The name of the type genus Linophryne

has been translated from the Greek to
mean "toad that fishes with a net", an
allusion to the fishes' impressive use of
mimicry in luring prey. One of several
families of anglerfishes, the
Linophrynidae are not well studied, and
only one species is given a common
name: the netdevil, Borophryne apogon.
For this reason, the name "netdevil" can
sometimes refer to any linophrynid.

Description
With roughly spherical to slightly
elongated, gelatinous, and scaleless
bodies and large triangular heads,
leftvents possess a body plan typical of
deep-sea anglerfish. In females only,
long, sharp fang-like teeth line the jaws
of a cavernous maw. An illicium (a
modified dorsal spine; the "fishing rod")
— and an esca (a bulbous,
bioluminescent "fishing lure") are
present, also in females only. The illicium
is shorter and the esca larger and
complex compared to those found in
some other anglerfish families, and its
conformation is unique to each species.
Most distinctively, Linophryne (the most
diverse genus) possess greatly
elongated and highly complex hyoid
(chin) barbels: these barbels are forked
(with three to five main branches) and
may be longer than the standard length
of the fish, trailing below it in a tree-like
manner. Sessile bioluminescent organs
are also present on the branches of this
barbel.

The complexity and length of the hyoid

barbel varies widely among species, with
some having no forkings. In Haplophryne,
barbels are absent altogether, and the
illicium is reduced to a rounded flap.

Symbiotic bacteria belonging to the

family Vibrionaceae are responsible for
the luminescence; the strain of bacteria
is apparently different in each species.
The bacteria are believed to originate
from the surrounding seawater and
colonise the organs via external ducts.
The light produced is bluish to greenish,
and the host female presumably has
some control over its production.

Like other deep-sea anglers, leftvents

have watery flesh and poorly ossified
bones; the skin, which in females is a
dark brown to black in life (but colourless
in Haplophryne), is extremely fragile and
abrades with ease. Males are more or
less colourless. Females possess strong
sphenotic and preopercle spines and
highly distensible stomachs. Males, other
than lacking lures, barbels, and (in most
species) jaw teeth, have larger olfactory
organs and tubular eyes; short and stout
denticular teeth are also present. Sexual
dimorphism is extreme: females may
reach a length of 23 cm (9.1 in), while
males remain under 5 cm (2.0 in).

The pelvic fins and pelvic bone are

absent in both sexes; the present fins are
small and rounded. The dorsal fin and
anal fin are of roughly equal size, both
positioned far back from the head, and
retrorse.

Life history
Adult leftvents have been trawled from
both mesopelagic and benthopelagic
depths, ranging from 500 to 4,000 m
(1,600 to 13,100 ft) below the ocean
surface . Few details are known of their
life history: mature females are poor
swimmers and likely remain motionless
much of the time, waiting for both mates
and prey to approach their lures. The
female's distensible stomach permits the
ingestion of a wide variety of prey
(lanternfish are a common catch), even
prey larger than the anglerfish herself.
The diminutive males do not feed
following their metamorphosis from
larval to adult form: they are obligate
parasites and exist only to provide sperm
to females. Males are believed to be
attracted to females by the latter's
species-specific lures and pheromones,
on which the males home in with the help
of their oversized olfactory organs and
eyes.

Once a female is located, the male

latches onto her with his otherwise
useless teeth. Through enzymatic
processes, the tissues of the male
gradually begin to coalesce with the
tissues of the female, resulting in a
permanent attachment and a shared
circulatory system, forming a
hermaphroditic chimera. The
development of the male's large testes —
which was delayed prior to this point —
begins, and all other organs in the male's
body degenerate. Several males may
thus attach to the same female with no
apparent ill effects befalling her.

Leftvents are presumed not to be

guarders (that is, they do not care for
eggs after release), with females
releasing buoyant eggs into the water,
which become part of the zooplankton;
these may be contained within
gelatinous rafts. The larvae remain near
the shallower limits of the mesopelagic
zone where they presumably feed on
plankton and marine snow. The larval
epidermis is greatly inflated; this may
help the larvae maintain neutral
buoyancy. Upon metamorphosis, the fish
descend to deeper water. Males likely
outnumber females by a wide margin,
and physically mature more quickly,
though as noted above they do not
mature sexually until they attach to a
female.

Fossil record
A fossil of what may be Linophryne indica
was found in Late Miocene strata of Los
Angeles, California, along with a fossil of
the related Borophryne apogon, during
the construction of a metrorail in 1993.[2]

At least two fossils of Acentrophryne

longidens have been found in Late
Miocene-aged limestone from Rosedale,
California.[2]

References
1. Carnevale, Giorgio; Theodore W.
Pietsch; Gary T. Takeuchi; Richard W.
Huddleston (2008). "Fossil Ceratioid
Anglerfishes (Teleostei:
Lophiformes) from the Miocene of
 the Los Angeles Basin, California"
(PDF). Journal of Paleontology. 82
(5): 996–1008. doi:10.1666/07-
113.1 .
2. Carnevale & Pietsch "The Deep-sea
Anglerfish Genus Acentrophryne
(Teleostei, Ceratioidei,
Linophrynidae) in the Miocene of
California" Journal of Vertebrate
Paleontology 29(2):372–378, June
2009 [1]
Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds.
(2005). "Linophrynidae" in FishBase.
February 2005 version.
"Review of the deep-sea anglerfishes
(Lophiiformes: Ceratioidei) of southern
 Africa" . M. Eric Anderson and Robin
W. Leslie. February 2005 version. J.L.B.
Smith Institute of Ichthyology.
"Marine microlights: the luminous
marine bacteria" . Peter Herring.
February 2005 version. Microbiology
Today, Vol. 29., November 2002.

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