crested bigscale
Poromitra crassiceps (Günther, 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
Poromitra crassiceps, commonly called the crested bigscale (also called large-headed midnight fish, crested melamphid, or one-horned melamphaid) is a species of deep sea fish in the ridgehead family. While the fish with the common name crested bigscale in Alaskan waters had formerly been identified as P. crassiceps, it is now believed that Alaskan crested bigscales are actually Poromitra curilensis, and that P. crassiceps is restricted to the Atlantic Ocean. As a result of this mis-identification, P. crassiceps is occasionally identified as the largest ridgehead - while specimens of P. curilensis as large as 18 cm SL have been found, the maximum length of P. crassiceps is 14.8 cm SL. Although almost no light penetrates to the deep sea from the surface, the crested bigscale has evolved features that make it practically invisible. Like other deep sea fish, it needs to avoid being seen by predators, some of which hunt for prey by creating their own light by means of bioluminescence. The crested bigscale achieves invisibility by having a skin that absorbs light with great efficiency.
Wikipedia contributors, Poromitra crassiceps; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T05:59:51.129318+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Poromitra crassiceps (Günther, 1878)
- Name authority
- (Günther, 1878)
- Common name
- crested bigscale
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Beryciformes
- Family
- Melamphaidae
- Genus
- Poromitra
- 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
- orderBeryciformes
- suborderBerycoidei
- familyMelamphaidae Gill, 1893
- genusPoromitra Goode & Bean, 1883
- speciesPoromitra crassiceps (Günther, 1878)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Poromitra. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Poromitra agafonovae Kotlyar, 2009 | MelamphaidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Poromitra capito Goode & Bean, 1883 | MelamphaidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Poromitra cristiceps (Gilbert, 1890) | MelamphaidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Poromitra curilensis Kotlyar, 2008 | MelamphaidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Poromitra frontosa (Garman, 1899) | MelamphaidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Poromitra macrophthalma (Gilchrist, 1903) | MelamphaidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Poromitra nigrofulva (Garman, 1899) | MelamphaidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Poromitra kukuevi Kotlyar, 2008 | MelamphaidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Poromitra coronata (Gilchrist & von Bonde, 1924) | MelamphaidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Poromitra crassa Parin & Ebeling, 1980 | MelamphaidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Poromitra decipiens Kotlyar, 2008 | MelamphaidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Poromitra gibbsi Parin & Borodulina, 1989 | MelamphaidaeChordata | 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 |
|---|---|
| Melamphaes crassiceps (Günther, 1878) (Günther, 1878) | synonym |
| Scopelus crassiceps Günther, 1878 Günther, 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=127273 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:4LY7K. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.