unicorn icefish
Channichthys rhinoceratus Richardson, 1844
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.
Fish Pl. 6 The zoology of the voyage of the H.M.S. Erebus & Terror, under the command of Captain Sir James Clark Ross, during the years 1839 to 1843. By authority of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. Edited by John Richardson and John Edward Gray.
Erebus (Ship).; Gray, John Edward; Richardson, John; Ross, James Clark; Terror (Ship). · Public domain · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Channichthys rhinoceratus, the unicorn icefish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Channichthyidae, the crocodile icefishes. It is endemic to the Kerguelen-Heard Plateau in the Southern Ocean. It is a demersal species living from surface waters to depths up to 750 m (2,460 ft). It is considered by some researchers as the only species in the genus Channichthys.
Wikipedia contributors, Channichthys rhinoceratus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T05:12:13.285220+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Channichthys rhinoceratus Richardson, 1844
- Name authority
- Richardson, 1844
- Common name
- unicorn icefish
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Perciformes
- Family
- Channichthyidae
- Genus
- Channichthys
- 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
- orderPerciformes
- suborderNotothenioidei
- familyChannichthyidae Gill, 1861
- genusChannichthys Richardson, 1844
- speciesChannichthys rhinoceratus Richardson, 1844
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Channichthys. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Channichthys aelitae Shandikov, 1995 | ChannichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Channichthys bospori Shandikov, 1995 | ChannichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Channichthys mithridatis Shandikov, 2008 | ChannichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Channichthys rugosus Regan, 1913 | ChannichthyidaeChordata | 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 |
|---|---|
| Chaenichthys rhinoceratus Richardson, 1844 Richardson, 1844 | 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.
- Richardson, J. (1844). Description of a new genus of gobioid fish. Annals and Magazine of Natural History (New Series), v. 13 (no. 86) (art. 52): 461–462. https://doi.org/10.1080/03745484409442631 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.
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:TM56. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.