Halosaurus johnsonianus Vaillant, 1888
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Halosaurus johnsonianus, also called the Sahara halosaur, is a deep-sea fish in the family Halosauridae. It is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean from southern Spain and Portugal to Mauritania, including the Azores and Canary Islands. It is a benthopelagic species living on the continental slope in depths from 800 to 2,200 m (2,600 to 7,200 ft). It grows to 50 cm (20 in) total length.
Halosaurus johnsonianus is not a fishery species, and no significant threats to it are known.
Wikipedia contributors, Halosaurus johnsonianus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:42:53.002391+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Halosaurus johnsonianus Vaillant, 1888
- Name authority
- Vaillant, 1888
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Notacanthiformes
- Family
- Halosauridae
- Genus
- Halosaurus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderNotacanthiformes
- familyHalosauridae Günther, 1868
- genusHalosaurus Johnson, 1864
- speciesHalosaurus johnsonianus Vaillant, 1888
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Halosaurus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Halosaurus carinicauda (Alcock, 1889) | HalosauridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Halosaurus pectoralis McCulloch, 1926 | HalosauridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Halosaurus radiatus Garman, 1899 | HalosauridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Halosaurus ridgwayi (Fowler, 1934) | HalosauridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Halosaurus attenuatus Garman, 1899 | HalosauridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Halosaurus guentheri Goode & Bean, 1896 | HalosauridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Halosaurus ovenii Johnson, 1864 | HalosauridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Halosaurichthys johnsonianus (Vaillant, 1888) (Vaillant, 1888) | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Vaillant, L. L. (1888). Expéditions scientifiques du “Travailleur” et du “Talisman” pendant les années 1880, 1881, 1882, 1883. Poissons. Paris., 1–406, Pls. 1–28. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.13677 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3JG3D. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.