Fangtooth, Anoplogaster cornuta (Valenciennes 1833)

Other Names: Common Fangtooth, Common Sabertooth, Horned Fang-tooth Fish, Ogrefish

A Fangtooth, Anoplogaster cornuta, from the Gulf of Mexico. Source: Danté Fenolio, DEEPEND Consortium / http://www.deependconsortium.org/. License: CC by Attribution

Summary:

Darkly-pigmented deep-water fishes with an enormous mouth with huge fang-like teeth in the lower jaw.

Relative to its size, the Fangtooth has the largest teeth of any fish. When it closes its mouth, the enormous lower jaw teeth slide up into sockets on either side of its brain.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2017, Anoplogaster cornuta in Fishes of Australia, accessed 18 May 2022, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/3735

Fangtooth, Anoplogaster cornuta (Valenciennes 1833)

More Info

Distribution	Coral Sea off Queensland, to off Point Cloates, Western Australia, and the Lord Howe Rise. Elsewhere the species id circumglobal in tropical to temperate waters, in depths of 75-5000 m, mostly at 500-2,000 m.
Features	Dorsal fin rays 17–20; Ana fins rays 7–9; Pectoral fin rays 13–16; Pelvic fin rays 7. Body short, deep; mouth large with huge fang-like teeth and small eyes; mucous cavities on head covered by thin fragile membranes and separated by serrated ridges; gill rakers of adults in spinulate groups on bony bases; single dorsal fin of uniform height opposed posteriorly by short-based anal fin; skin embedded with small prickly scales; lateral line an open groove, bridged at intervals by scales. Juveniles differ markedly, having a pale body, relatively large eyes, long, vertical head spines and small, multiserial teeth.
Size	To 17 cm
Colour	Adults uniformly dark blackish-brown to black, including inside mouth; juveniles pale.
Feeding	Carnivores - juveniles feed on crustaceans, adults feed mainly on fishes.
Biology	Oviparous, with planktonic larvae. Larval sizes have been reported as follows: 3.9mm preflexion, 4.7mm to 9.1mm SL postflexion, and a 15.7mm SL juvenile (Konishi 1999).
Fisheries
Conservation	IUCN Red List: Least Concern
Remarks
Similar Species
Etymology
Species Citation	Hoplostethus cornutus Valenciennes, 1833, Hist. Nat. Poiss. 9: 470.Type lcality: South Atlantic (26ºS).
Author	Bray, D.J. 2017
Resources	Australian Faunal Directory

Fangtooth, Anoplogaster cornuta (Valenciennes 1833)

References

Anoplogaster cornuta Digital Fish Library http://www.digitalfishlibrary.org/library/ViewSpecies.php?id=56 Accessed 23 April 2017

Bray, D.J. 2008. Family Anoplogastridae. pp. 434 in Gomon. M.F., Bray, D.J. & Kuiter, R.H (eds). Fishes of Australia's Southern Coast. Sydney : Reed New Holland 928 pp.

Childress, J.J. 1973. Observations of the feeding behavior of a mesopelagic fish Anoplogaster cornuta: Beryciformes. Copeia 1973: 602-603.

Grey, M. 1955. Notes on a collection of Bermuda deep-sea fishes. Fieldiana 37: 265-302.

Hulley, P.A. 1986. Family 131: Anoplogasteridae. pp. 415 in Smith, M.M. & Heemstra, P.C. (eds). Smith's Sea Fishes. Johannesburg : Macmillan South Africa xx + 1047 pp. 144 pls.

Iwamoto, T. 2015. Anoplogaster cornuta. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T18123960A21910070. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T18123960A21910070.en. Downloaded on 21 June 2017.

Konishi, Y. 1999. Developmental and comparative morphology of beryciform larvae (Teleostei: Acanthomorpha), with comments on trachichthyoid relationships. Bulletin of Seikai National Fisheries Research Institute 77: 23-92.

Kotlyar, A.N. 1986. Classification and distribution of fishes of the family Anoplogasteridae (Beryciformes). Voprosy Ikhtiologii 26(4): 531-551 [in Russian; English translation in Journal of Ichthyology 1987 26(4): 133-153]

Meek, R.P. & Childress, J.J. 1973. Respiration and the effect of pressure in the mesopelagic fish Anoplogaster cornuta (Beryciformes). Deep-Sea Research 20: 1111-1118.

Paxton, J.R. 1999. Families Gibberichthyidae, Rondeletiidae, Barbourisiidae, Cetomimidae, Mirapinnidae, Megalomycteridae, Anoplogastridae, Diretmidae. pp. 2203-2211 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, T.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 4 2069-2790 pp.

Shimizu, T. 1978. Record of the Beryciform fish, Anoplogaster cornuta, from the Western North Pacific. Japanese Journal of Ichthyology 25: 65-67.

Valenciennes, A. in Cuvier, G.L. & Valenciennes, A. 1833. Histoire Naturelle des Poissons. Paris : Levrault Vol. 9 512 pp. pls 246-279.

Watson, W. 1996. Anoplogastridae: fangtooths. pp. 683-685. in Moser, H.G. The early stages of fishes in the California Current region. Fisheries Investigations Atlas No. 33 Lawrence, Kansas : California Cooperative Oceanic Allen Press, Inc. 1505 pp.

Young, J.W., Lamb, T.D. & Bradford, R.W. 1996. Distribution and community structure of midwater fishes in relation to the subtropical convergence off eastern Tasmania, Australia.l. Marine Biology 126(4): 571-584.