Bajacalifornia
Encyclopedia
Bajacalifornia is a fish genus from the family Alepocephalidae
. It was described in 1925 by Charles Haskins Townsend
and John Treadwell Nichols
on the basis of Bajacalifornia burragei which was discovered in 1911 during the deep sea expedition of the research vessel USS Albatross
off the coast of Todos Santos Bay
at the Baja California peninsula
. The body is covered with small cycloid scales. The ventral scales are well developed. The mouth is moderately wide but larger than in the genus Alepocephalus. The lower jaw is strongly projected and ends in a pointed knob which is directed obliquely forwards. The jaw edges have a single row of small teeth. The gill raker
openings are wide, the gill membranes are joined below. The short dorsal and anal fins are equal in length.
, the Indo-Pacific
north to the Sea of Japan
and eastwards to the East Pacific Rise
.
) and Bathytroctes calcaratus (described in 1913 by Max Carl Wilhelm Weber) into this genus. Bajacalifornia erimoensi was described in 1977, Bajacalifornia arcylepis in 1985, Bajacalifornia microstoma in 1988 and Bajacalifornia aequatoris in 1993
Alepocephalidae
Slickheads or nakedheads are a family, Alepocephalidae, of osmeriform fishes. They are deep-water fishes most common below 1,000 m...
. It was described in 1925 by Charles Haskins Townsend
Charles Haskins Townsend
Charles Haskins Townsend, Sc.D. was an American zoologist, born at Parnassus, Pennsylvania. From 1897 to 1902 he was connected with the United States Fish Commission, serving as chief of the fisheries division. He then served as director of the New York Aquarium at Castle Garden, from 1902 until...
and John Treadwell Nichols
John Treadwell Nichols
John Treadwell Nichols was an American ichthyologist.-Biography:Nichols was born as son of John White Treadwell Nichols in Jamaica Plain, Boston, Massachusetts. In 1906 he studied vertebrate zoology at Harvard College where he graduated to Bachelor of Arts...
on the basis of Bajacalifornia burragei which was discovered in 1911 during the deep sea expedition of the research vessel USS Albatross
USS Albatross (1882)
The second USS Albatross, often seen as USFC Albatross in scientific literature citations, was an iron-hulled, twin-screw steamer in the United States Navy and reputedly the first vessel ever built especially for marine research....
off the coast of Todos Santos Bay
Isla Todos Santos
Isla Todos Santos is a pair of islands about 19.3km off Ensenada, Baja California at best known for surfing. Access is only by boat, which can be rented out from Ensenada, or La Bufadora. The waves off the smallest island are some of the biggest waves in the North American continent, rivaled in...
at the Baja California peninsula
Baja California Peninsula
The Baja California peninsula , is a peninsula in northwestern Mexico. Its land mass separates the Pacific Ocean from the Gulf of California. The Peninsula extends from Mexicali, Baja California in the north to Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur in the south.The total area of the Baja California...
. The body is covered with small cycloid scales. The ventral scales are well developed. The mouth is moderately wide but larger than in the genus Alepocephalus. The lower jaw is strongly projected and ends in a pointed knob which is directed obliquely forwards. The jaw edges have a single row of small teeth. The gill raker
Gill raker
Gill rakers in fish are bony or cartilaginous processes that project from the branchial arch and are involved with filter feeding tiny prey. They are not to be confused with the gill filaments that compose the bony part of the gill. Rakers are usually present in two rows, projecting from both the...
openings are wide, the gill membranes are joined below. The short dorsal and anal fins are equal in length.
Distribution
The distribution area ranges from the Indian OceanIndian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
, the Indo-Pacific
Indo-Pacific
The Indo-Pacific is a biogeographic region of the Earth's seas, comprising the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the seas connecting the two in the general area of Indonesia...
north to the Sea of Japan
Sea of Japan
The Sea of Japan is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, between the Asian mainland, the Japanese archipelago and Sakhalin. It is bordered by Japan, North Korea, Russia and South Korea. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific...
and eastwards to the East Pacific Rise
East Pacific Rise
The East Pacific Rise is a mid-oceanic ridge, a divergent tectonic plate boundary located along the floor of the Pacific Ocean. It separates the Pacific Plate to the west from the North American Plate, the Rivera Plate, the Cocos Plate, the Nazca Plate, and the Antarctic Plate...
.
Species
The genus Bajacalifornia includes seven species. Bajacalifornia burragei is the type species described in 1925. In 1952 Ichthyologist Albert Eide Parr published a revision of Bajacalifornia and classified Cyclothone megalops (described in 1898 by Christian Frederik LütkenChristian Frederik Lütken
Christian Frederik Lütken was a Danish naturalist, born 4 October 1827 in Sorø, died 1901.After a career in the Danish army until 1852, he decided to dedicate his life to natural history and left the army at the grade of first lieutenant. From 1856-1862, he was Private docent at the University of...
) and Bathytroctes calcaratus (described in 1913 by Max Carl Wilhelm Weber) into this genus. Bajacalifornia erimoensi was described in 1977, Bajacalifornia arcylepis in 1985, Bajacalifornia microstoma in 1988 and Bajacalifornia aequatoris in 1993