Psychrolutes Explained

Psychrolutes is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Psychrolutidae, the fatheads and toadfishes. Though found predominantly in the deep sea, a handful^[1] of species are present in the intertidal regions of the North Pacific rim.^[2] In June 2003, During the NORFANZ Expedition north-west of New Zealand, scientists trawled a specimen of P. microporos at a depth between 1013m (3,323feet) and on the Norfolk Ridge.^[3]

Species

There are currently 11 recognized species in this genus:

• Psychrolutes inermis (Vaillant, 1888)
• Psychrolutes macrocephalus (Gilchrist, 1904)
• Psychrolutes marcidus (McCulloch, 1926) (blobfish)
• Psychrolutes marmoratus (T. N. Gill, 1889)
• Psychrolutes microporos J. S. Nelson, 1995 (blobfish)
• Psychrolutes occidentalis R. Fricke, 1990 (Western Australian sculpin)
• Psychrolutes paradoxus Günther, 1861 (Tadpole sculpin)
• Psychrolutes phrictus Stein & C. E. Bond, 1978 (blob sculpin)
• Psychrolutes sigalutes (D. S. Jordan & Starks, 1895) (soft sculpin)
• Psychrolutes sio J. S. Nelson, 1980
• Psychrolutes subspinosus (A. S. Jensen, 1902)

Catalog of Fishes classifies Gilbertidia as a synonym of Pyschrolutes, but FishBase treats it as a valid genus.

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2015. Psychrolutidae. 29 July 2017.
2. Web site: Froese. Rainer. Orlov. Alexei. Psychrolutes paradoxus Günther, 1861. FishBase. 29 July 2017.
3. Web site: Census of Marine Life pictures of new ocean species discovered. https://web.archive.org/web/20101005214511/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthpicturegalleries/8039965/Census-of-Marine-Life-pictures-of-new-ocean-species-discovered.html. dead. 5 October 2010. The Daily Telegraph, UK. 4 October 2010. 4 October 2010.