Acanthonus
The bony-eared assfish (Acanthonus armatus) is a bathypelagic species of cusk-eel found in tropical and sub-tropical oceans at depths of from 1,171 to 4,415 metres (3,842 to 14,485 ft). It has been found as far north as Queen Charlotte Sound off British Columbia's coast. This species grows to a length of 37.5 centimetres (14.8 in) standard length. The larvae are similar in overall form to the related gargoyle cusk, but have elongated 3rd, 4th, and 5th pectoral-fin rays.
The bony-eared assfish has been distinguished, by some sources, as having the smallest brain-to-body weight ratio of any living vertebrate, with one sample brain weighing just 6 milligrams. But the ratio is closely contested by some species of lamprey and the ocean sunfish.
3 branches of this genus, most-observed first · about 3 known species
Bony-eared Assfish
speciesAcanthonus armatus
Acanthonus hextii
speciesAcanthonus hextii
Gargoyle Cusk
speciesAcanthonus myersi
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
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In the stacks
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Every page naming Acanthonus in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 86186.