Animalia Life

Ogilbia cayorum
FAMILY
Bythytidae
TAXONOMY
Ogilbia cayorum Evermann and Kendall, 1898, Key West, Florida, United States. The holotype is a female. It was unknown at the time of the original description that the species is sexually dimorphic. Thus, considerable taxonomic confusion occurred when the male of the species was described separately. Taxonomic confusion persists, since it is believed currently that numerous undescribed Ogilbia species reside in the western tropical Atlantic Ocean. The extent to which their
DISTRIBUTION
s overlap with the Key brotula is unknown. Thus, care must be taken in identification.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: West Indies brotula.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
A small and moderately elongate ophidiiform fish with long anal and dorsal fins. The body and fins are uniformly pigmented, appearing yellow to olive-brown. Adults can attain about 3.9 in (10 cm) in length. The caudal fin is distinct and separate, not confluent with the dorsal- and anal-fin bases. The pelvic fins are positioned at the isthmus, anterior to the pectoralfin bases. Each pelvic fin has one fleshy ray that is longer than the length of the head. The eye is small and the mouth large, with the upper jaw extending well posterior to the eye. The body is covered with small overlapping scales that do not appear on the cheeks (opercular bones).
DISTRIBUTION
The species is known from the Florida Keys, the Bahamas, and other localities in the Caribbean, including Belize, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica south to Venezuela. Many of these
DISTRIBUTION
al records may be for undescribed and similar species with overlapping
DISTRIBUTION
s in this region.
HABITAT
The holotype of the Key brotula was collected by seine on an algae-covered shoal over coral rubble. The coral fragments were encrusted with organisms. The species usually is collected at depths of less than 9.8 ft (3 m), often by uprooting and shaking clumps of Halimeda. This secretive bythitid also may reside in reef crevices, rocky holes, and mangrove roots in shallow waters and out to the edge of the reef. It is rarely seen by divers and typically is collected only in research surveys at poison stations, sometimes locally abundant. For example, more than 15 individuals were collected at one station in Belize. The species probably is tolerant of large fluctuations in temperature and salinity.
BEHAVIOR
Specimens kept in aquaria constantly hide under shells or rubble. The species probably is nocturnal, judging by its small eyes and cryptic nature. There are few data on its natural habits.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
There are no detailed studies of the diet or feeding
BEHAVIOR
of this species. Juvenile and adult Key brotulas probably eat small crustaceans and are preyed upon by larger fishes and wading birds. Embryonic nutrition is remarkable. To supplement energy reserves in yolk sacs, embryos of Key brotula “suckle” on fluid-filled bulbs of ovigerous tissue. This highly unusual developmental strategy may be an evolutionary response to the poor feeding evironment of larvae after hatching.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Males and females have delicate, interlocking copulatory organs. Genital morphological features have been described in detail, but mating has never been observed. The copulatory apparatus of the male is partly calcified and is thought to be derived from the first anal ray. The penis rests on a pedestal surrounded by muscular pseudoclaspers and covered by a fleshy urogenital hood. The urogenital pore of the female is similarly protected. Most bythitids have the capability of sperm storage in the oviduct or ovary. Fertilization is internal, and embryos grow rapidly. Late embryos are well developed, with pigmented eyes and fully developed and functional digestive system, musculature, gills, and caudal fin. Newborn young are about 0.5 in (12 mm) in length, and brood size is about 14 individuals.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not listed by the IUCN.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
This species is rarely observed and is not fished commercially. It has limited appeal as an aquarium species, since it rarely shows itself to the viewer.

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