Melanocetus rossi Balushkin & Fedorov, 1981
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
Melanocetus rossi is a species of black seadevil, a type of anglerfish. The fish is mesopelagic; the only example collected by humans was found in the Ross Sea at a depth of 390 metres (1,280 ft).
Wikipedia contributors, Melanocetus rossi; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:09:50.373887+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Melanocetus rossi Balushkin & Fedorov, 1981
- Name authority
- Balushkin & Fedorov, 1981
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Lophiiformes
- Family
- Melanocetidae
- Genus
- Melanocetus
- 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
- familyMelanocetidae Gill, 1878
- genusMelanocetus Günther, 1864
- speciesMelanocetus rossi Balushkin & Fedorov, 1981
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Melanocetus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Melanocetus eustalus Pietsch & Van Duzer, 1980 | MelanocetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Melanocetus niger Regan, 1925 | MelanocetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Humpback anglerfishMelanocetus johnsonii Günther, 1864 | MelanocetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Murray's abyssal anglerfishMelanocetus murrayi Günther, 1887 | MelanocetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Melanocetus polyactis Regan, 1925 | MelanocetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
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.
- Balushkin, A. V., & Fedorov, V. V. (1981). On finding the deepwater anglerfishes (Melanocetus rossi sp. n. and Oneirodes notius) in the Ross Sea (Antarctica). Biologiya Morya (Vladivostok), 2 (2): 79–82. [In Russian, English abstract.]. 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:3Z877. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.