Guentherus facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Guentherus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Ateleopodiformes
Family:	Ateleopodidae
Genus:	Guentherus Osório, 1917, Katoi, 2008

Guentherus is a genus of deep-sea fish, often called jellynose fish. These fish belong to a family called Ateleopodidae. There are two known species in the Guentherus genus:

• Guentherus altivela (also known as the jellynose or highfin tadpole fish)
• Guentherus katoi

What makes Guentherus special compared to other fish in its family is how its pelvic fins look. Guentherus has three separate fin rays, followed by 6 to 9 regular rays that are connected by a membrane. Other fish in this family usually have just one long, thin ray or one more developed ray with a few tiny ones.

Guentherus katoi

An Ateleopus japonicus fish.

Meet the Jellynose Fish Family: Ateleopodidae

The Ateleopodidae family is home to four different groups, or genera, of fish, with a total of thirteen species. These groups are called Ateleopus, Ijimaia, Parateleopus, and Guentherus.

You can find these jellynose fish mostly in warm, tropical, and subtropical waters. The Ateleopus, Parateleopus, and Guentherus groups live in the Pacific Ocean. The Ijimaia group lives in the Atlantic Ocean.

Jellynose fish get their name because they have a very soft, jelly-like snout. They are also sometimes called tadpole fish because of their shape.

All About the Guentherus Genus

The Guentherus group of fish was first described in 1917 by a scientist named Balthazar Osório. He discovered the species Guentherus altivela.

Guentherus fish are different from other jellynose fish because of where their pelvic fins are placed and how they are built. They have three free rays followed by a normal pelvic fin. These fish live near the bottom of the ocean. Guentherus altivela is known to eat tiny sea creatures like copepods and polychaetes.

The Two Guentherus Species

Guentherus katoi

Where Does Guentherus katoi Live?

Guentherus katoi was named after Tatsuya Kato, the person who first found a specimen of this fish. This species has been found deep in the ocean, at depths of 1,000 to 2,000 feet. So far, all specimens of G. katoi have been found off the coast of Southern Japan, near the Okinawa Islands.

What Does Guentherus katoi Look Like?

G. katoi is a type of ray-finned fish that does not have scales. It has jaws but no teeth.

• Its head and body are a pale pink color.
• It has many reddish to dark brown spots from its neck down the sides of its body.
• The dorsal fin (on its back) is reddish-brown at the bottom and blackish towards the tip.
• There are some small dark brown spots at the base of the dorsal fin.
• Its pectoral fins (on its sides) are reddish-brown, blackish at the tips, and grayish at the bottom.
• The pelvic fins are blackish, except for three white, separate rays.

How to Tell Guentherus katoi Apart

You can tell G. katoi apart from other species in its group because it does not have a lateral line (a sensory line along its body) and it also lacks scales.

Guentherus altivela

Guentherus altivela was first described by Balthazar Osório in 1917. He published his findings in a scientific paper titled Nota sôbre algumas espécies de peixes que vivem no Atlântico ocidental.