Himantolophus appelii (Clarke, 1878)
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
The prickly anglerfish (Himantolophus appelii) is a footballfish of the family Himantolophidae, found around the world in the southern oceans (apart from eastern Pacific), in deep water. Its length is up to 40 cm (16 in). It is a mesopelagic species.
A specimen was collected on November 14, 2007. It was a female that was collected east of the Falkland Islands at a depth of 292–318 m (958–1,043 ft). The specimen measured 21 cm (8.3 in) in total length and weighed 616 g (21.7 oz).
It was first described in 1878 by Frank Edward Clarke as Aegoeonichthys appelii. The species epithet honours Mr Appel who provided F. E. Clarke with a specimen.
Wikipedia contributors, Prickly anglerfish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:48:10.971319+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Himantolophus appelii (Clarke, 1878)
- Name authority
- (Clarke, 1878)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Lophiiformes
- Family
- Himantolophidae
- Genus
- Himantolophus
- 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
- orderLophiiformes
- suborderCeratioidei
- familyHimantolophidae Gill, 1861
- genusHimantolophus Reinhardt, 1837
- speciesHimantolophus appelii (Clarke, 1878)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Himantolophus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Himantolophus albinares Maul, 1961 | HimantolophidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Himantolophus azurlucens Beebe & Crane, 1947 | HimantolophidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Himantolophus borealis Kharin, 1984 | HimantolophidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Himantolophus brevirostris (Regan, 1925) | HimantolophidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Himantolophus compressus (Osório, 1909) | HimantolophidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Himantolophus crinitus Bertelsen & Krefft, 1988 | HimantolophidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Himantolophus danae Regan & Trewavas, 1932 | HimantolophidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Atlantic football-fishHimantolophus groenlandicus Reinhardt, 1837 | HimantolophidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Himantolophus melanolophus Bertelsen & Krefft, 1988 | HimantolophidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Himantolophus paucifilosus Bertelsen & Krefft, 1988 | HimantolophidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pacific footballfishHimantolophus sagamius (Tanaka, 1918) | HimantolophidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Himantolophus macroceras Bertelsen & Krefft, 1988 | HimantolophidaeChordata | 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 |
|---|---|
| Aegaeonichthys appelii Clarke, 1878 Clarke, 1878 | 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.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=272572 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:3LXXY. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.