The Lophiiformes order, universally known as anglerfish, covers 321 recognized species, 18 families and 65 genera. The families themselves comprise of five suborders: Lophioidei, Antennarioidei, Chaunacoidei, Ogcocephaloidei and Ceratioidei. These fish exhibit a variety of body forms, from spherical, laterally compressed, or even dorsoventrally depressed. All of their heads and mouths are generally large with a protractile premaxilla. Synapomorphies of this order include but are not limited to: spinous dorsal fins of six spines, opercle reduced, loss of pharyngobranchial IV, posttemporal fused to cranium, eggs spawned in a double scroll-shaped mucous sheath and more. The suborder most acknowledged of the Lophiiformes order is the ceratiodei. The ceratiodei is significantly recognized for its sexual dimorphism and luminescent lure. The esca is a unique feature that attracts prey using bioluminescence is absent in some Antennariidae, male Ceratioidei, and in both sexes of the ceratioid family Neoceratiidae. A researcher by the name of Pietsch investigated the legitimacy of a former theory that tested the suborders of Lophioidei, Antennarioidei and Ceratioidei. He found many synapomorphic characteristics to support a sister-group relationship between Antennariidae and Brachionichthyidae, and amongst the families Chaunacidae and Ogcocephalidae, however, no substantial synapomorphy was found to link these two larger subgroups. He further investigated their phylogeny by creating a new cladogram which proposed that the suborder Antennarioidei is limited to only four families: the Antennariidae, identified as the sister-group of the Tetrabrachiidae, these two families together forming the sister-group of the Lophichthyidae, and this assemblage of three families establishing the sister-group of the Brachionichthyidae. This cladogram was supported by synapomorphies including: postmaxillary process of the premaxilla spatulate, posteromedial process of the vomer emerging from the ventral surface as a laterally compressed, keel-like structure, its ventral margin strongly convex, opercle similarly reduced in size, illicial pterygiophore and pterygiophore of the third dorsal spine with highly compressed, blade-like dorsal expansions and more. The current analysis of lophiiform relationships contradicts former hypotheses recognizing the Antennarioidei as the basic sister-group of a more inclusive group that consists of the Chaunacoidei, the Ogcocephaloidei, and the Ceratioidei. 

 

 

Pietsch, Theodore W. 2005. Lophiiformes. Anglerfishes. Version 18 October 2005 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Lophiiformes/21989/2005.10.18 inThe Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/