Caulophryne jordani
Description As mysterious as the deep sea itself, there is not much known about its inhabitants: there are very few scientific illustrations of deep sea angler fishes. This illustration aims to unveil part of the mystery of Caulophryne jordani, a pelagic fish, which is believed to live in depths between 800 and 4000 meters.There is no natural light at these depths and therefore, a black scratchboard was a logical choice. Moreover, Caulophryne jordani has bioluminescent rays as well as some other structures which can be highlighted by the white scratches contrasting the deep black canvas.
Like many angler fishes, the females (approx. 13cm - its real size corresponds to the one represented in the original artwork) are about 8 to 10 times larger than the males.
Although not strange to other angler fishes, its reproduction strategy is truly curious. When a pair comes across, the male fuses to the female, becoming completely dependent on her for its survival. As an exchange, the female can be easily fecundated.
For this illustration it was considered of extreme importance not only precisely illustrate all structures, like the number of rays in each fin or the esca and the illicium, all textures, like the semi-transparent caudal and pectoral fins, but also the reproduction strategy, illustrated by the two coupled males in the belly of the female.
The first (and, to my knowledge, the only one) record of a living Caulophryne jordani was filmed in 2018 at a depth of 800m, near the coast of Azores Islands, Portugal.
I checked the veracity of the video and most importantly, a confirmation of the correct identification of the species.
To confirm all characteristics of the species, I dived into the book 'Oceanic Anglerfishes: Extraordinary Diversity in the Deep Sea' by Theodore W. Pietsch Ph.D.
In addition, I spent many hours discussing with Pedro Salgado Ph.D., a renowned scientific illustrator and ichthyologist.
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Extra information
Original Width: 6496 pixels
Original Height: 5416 pixels
added on 2023-12-09295 viewsERMS taxaScan of drawing Caulophryne jordani Goode & Bean, 1896
Download full sizeOriginal Width: 6496 pixels
Original Height: 5416 pixels
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