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Akarotaxis
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<h2 id="taxonomy">Taxonomy</h2> <p><i>Akarotaxis</i> was first described as a genus in 1980 by the American <a href="/facts/Ichthyologist/S2MCul1h">ichthyologist</a> <a href="/facts/Hugh_Hamilton_DeWitt/9Lgqbbpu">Hugh Hamilton DeWitt</a> and the French ichthyologist Jean-Claude Hureau.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a> <i>Akarotaxis nudiceps</i> was <a href="/facts/Species_description/JyFpxSvJ">described</a> in 1916 as <i>Bathydraco nudiceps</i> by the British-born Australian <a href="/facts/Zoologist/6Kj13mBt">zoologist</a> <a href="/facts/Edgar_Ravenswood_Waite/56Efsdlq">Edgar Ravenswood Waite</a> with the <a href="/facts/Type_locality_(biology)/mTM1beKX">type locality</a> given as <a href="/facts/Queen_Mary_Land/6R7KS1wN">Queen Mary Land</a> off the <a href="/facts/Shackleton_Ice_Shelf/tHvov1Ub">Shackleton Ice Shelf</a>. The <a href="/facts/Type_(biology)/mTM1beKX">type</a> was collected by the <a href="/facts/Australasian_Antarctic_Expedition/5Y6guahP">Australasian Antarctic Expedition</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> The generic name compounds <i>akaro</i> meaning "short" or "small" with "taxis" which means "line" or "row", a reference to the short upper <a href="/facts/Lateral_line/u88dwyxh">lateral line</a>, which comprises lees than 10 tubular scales. The <a href="/facts/Specific_name_(zoology)/RuH34bxb">specific name</a> <i>nudiceps</i> means "naked head", thought to be an allusion to the absence of scales on the head despite Waite not mentioning this trait.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> </p><p><i>Akarotaxis gouldae</i> was described in August 2024, based on specimens exclusively found in a 400 km stretch of coastline in the <a href="/facts/Western_Antarctic_Peninsula/vpdK27WC">western Antarctic Peninsula</a>, from <a href="/facts/Lapeyr%25C3%25A8re_Bay/8d86jVjJ">Lapeyrère Bay</a> in the north to <a href="/facts/Adelaide_Island/egvMYFAj">Adelaide Island</a> in the south. The describers refrain from citing this as strong evidence of distribution, as it may be an artifact of <a href="/facts/Sampling_bias/nrr4qR2T">sampling bias</a>. The specific name was coined in honor of the U.S. Antarctic Research and Supply Vessel <i>Laurence M. Gould</i>, and not the <a href="/facts/Laurence_McKinley_Gould/EM2nncbW">namesake</a> of the vessel itself. <i>A. gouldae</i> was coined in the feminine form specifically to honor the ship, reflecting the practice of assigning ships female pronouns.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="description">Description</h2> <p><i>Akarotaxis</i> has a slender, body which is covered in <a href="/facts/Ctenoid/MS2brwuo">ctenoid</a> scales and has two lateral lines, the upper lateral line having only 3-9 tubed scales in its anterior section with its posterior part being made up of poredscales which also make up the middle lateral line. The upper rear margin of the operculum has a small hook. They are equipped with small conical teeth arranged in bands. The <a href="/facts/Dorsal_fin/zAPuxI1G">dorsal fin</a> has 29-33 soft rays while the <a href="/facts/Anal_fin/kS10PMPf">anal fin</a> has 25-28 soft rays. Specimens preserved in alcohol have a brown body with a darker head, a pale dorsal fin pale and the other fins being dusky.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> This species attains a maximum <a href="/facts/Standard_length/eFsVjjTu">standard length</a> of 13.0 cm (5.1 in).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="distribution-habitat-and-biology">Distribution, habitat and biology</h2> <p><i>Akarotaxis</i> is found almost all around the Antarctic continent from west of the <a href="/facts/Adelaide_Island/egvMYFAj">Adelaide Island</a> to the <a href="/facts/Ross_Sea/0s2Hw8Vf">Ross Sea</a> where it is a <a href="/facts/Bathydemersal/WqoGaBHp">bathydemersal</a> species found at depths between 371 to 915 m (1,217 to 3,002 ft) on the outer <a href="/facts/Continental_shelf/dpgHAR4U">continental shelf</a> and in deep troughs. It has the lowest known fecundity of the Antarctic dragonfishes, laying only 2000 eggs per female. <a href="/facts/Spawning/nYF12vfX">Spawning</a> takes place from mid to late summer.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="threats">Threats</h2> <p><i>A. gouldae</i> exhibit extremely low <a href="/facts/Fecundity/e0oMColj">fecundity</a>. They also associate with the ocean surface. Ergo, the budding Antarctic <a href="/facts/Krill_fishery/KylEkgn3">krill fishery</a> in the region may capture <i>A. gouldae</i> larvae as bycatch, and thus imperil the species.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Bathydraconidae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 8 October 2021. <a href="/wiki/William_N._Eschmeyer" target="_blank">/wiki/William_N._Eschmeyer</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Akarotaxis". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 8 October 2021. <a href="/wiki/William_N._Eschmeyer" target="_blank">/wiki/William_N._Eschmeyer</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (12 April 2021). "Order Perciformes: Suborder Notothenoididei: Families Bovichtidae, Pseaudaphritidae, Elegopinidae, Nototheniidae, Harpagiferidae, Artedidraconidae, Bathydraconidae, Channichthyidae and Percophidae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 6 October 2021. <a href="https://etyfish.org/perciformes7/" target="_blank">https://etyfish.org/perciformes7/</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Corso, Andrew D.; Desvignes, Thomas; Mcdowell, Jan R.; Cheng, Chi-Hing Christina; Biesack, Ellen E.; Steinberg, Deborah K.; Hilton, Eric J. (2024-08-30). "Akarotaxis gouldae, a new species of Antarctic dragonfish (Notothenioidei: Bathydraconidae) from the western Antarctic Peninsula". Zootaxa. 5501 (2): 265–290. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5501.2.3. ISSN 1175-5334. <a href="https://mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5501.2.3" target="_blank">https://mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5501.2.3</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>O. Gon (1990). "Bathydraconidae Dragonfishes". In O. Gon and P.C. Heemstra (eds.). Fishes of the Southern Ocean. South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity. ISBN 9780868102115. <a href="9780868102115" target="_blank">9780868102115</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Akarotaxis nudiceps". FishBase. June 2021 version. <a href="/wiki/Rainer_Froese" target="_blank">/wiki/Rainer_Froese</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Starnes, W.C. (2010). "Akarotaxis nudiceps". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010: e.T154740A4622925. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T154740A4622925.en. Retrieved 8 October 2021. <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/154740/4622925" target="_blank">https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/154740/4622925</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Corso, Andrew D.; Desvignes, Thomas; Mcdowell, Jan R.; Cheng, Chi-Hing Christina; Biesack, Ellen E.; Steinberg, Deborah K.; Hilton, Eric J. (2024-08-30). "Akarotaxis gouldae, a new species of Antarctic dragonfish (Notothenioidei: Bathydraconidae) from the western Antarctic Peninsula". Zootaxa. 5501 (2): 265–290. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5501.2.3. ISSN 1175-5334. <a href="https://mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5501.2.3" target="_blank">https://mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5501.2.3</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>