Cryothenia amphitreta

Cryothenia amphitreta is a species of marine pelagic fish belonging to the family Nototheniidae. It is found in the Antarctic Ross Sea. It has an unusual body structure: the pelvic fins reach only halfway from the pelvic-fin base to the anal origin, and the second dorsal-fin insertion is particularly advanced compared to the anal origin. C. amphitreta is coloured purple-gold with black linings on the mouth, gill cavities, and peritoneum. It is of no interest to commercial fisheries.[1]

Cryothenia amphitreta
Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Actinopterygii
Order:
Perciformes
Family:
Nototheniidae
Genus:
Cryothenia
Species:
C. amphitreta
Binomial name
Cryothenia amphitreta
Cziko & C. H. C. Cheng, 2006

Etymology

The generic and specific names are derived from Greek: Cryothenia means "from the cold" and amphitreta means "a cave with two openings".

Discovery

C. amphitreta was discovered in 2004 and identified as a unique species of nototheniid fish. It has two openings in its cranium that allow it to detect changes in water pressure as small as another fish swimming by. Other nototheniids are known to have this same structure, but with only one opening. Having two pressure-sensing cavities may help the fish locate prey better.[2]

References
  1. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2014). "Cryothenia amphitreta" in FishBase. February 2014 version.
  2. Paul A. Cziko & C.-H. Christina Cheng (2006). "A new species of nototheniid (Perciformes: Notothenioidei) fish from McMurdo Sound, Antarctica" (PDF). Copeia. 2006 (4): 752–759. doi:10.1643/0045-8511(2006)6[752:ansonp]2.0.co;2. JSTOR 4126539.


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