ABSTRACT
The Ogcocephalidae (batfishes) are worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas and comprise 14 species in our study area. They are found in shallow to slope water (0-1830 m) and the adults are very unusual with a depressed body, enormous head, pectoral fin on a long pedicel (caused by the elongation of the pectoral girdle), projecting rostrum with an esca, and a small, protrusible mouth. The body is covered with tubercles giving it a most grotesque appearance as they crawl on the bottom using their pectoral fins. In our area there are 9 species of Ogcocephalus (another species O. vespertilio occurs just outside of the area along the coast of South America south of the Amazon), one species of Halieutichthys (a highly variable species), 2 species of Dibranchus, and 1 species of Malthopsis. The young stages were first described by Watson (1996), but they closely esemble ELH stages of ceratioids and chaunacids. They can be easily distinguished from ceratioids by the presence of pelvic fins as only one ceratioid, Caulophryne jordani, has pelvics but with a high number of dorsal fin rays (14-22) and anal fin rays (13-19). Chaunacids also have more dorsal rays (11) and anal rays (5-6). Ogcocephalids share with the ceratoids and chaunacids the “balloon-like” shape of the body as the skin is inflated in a balloon-like capsule. Additional information may be found in Bradbury (1967, 1980, 1998), Pietsch (1984), and Watson (1996).
