User:Bigoceandude12/sandbox

Family history
The Yokozuna slickhead, is a member of the marine family Alepocephalidae. This family of deep water fish reside mostly at a depth greater than 1000 metres below sea level. Members of the family are dubbed "slickheads" due to their species defining trait of a lack of scales on the head region. The Alepocephalidae are a very large family with a high variability in structue between members. Common features consist of the absence of a Swim bladder, presence of a lateral line, and position of the dorsal fin far back and above the anal fin.

Discovery
The discovery of Narcetes Shonanmaruae occurred in the winter of 2016 by a fishing vessel named Shonan Maru off the coast of Japan in Suruga Bay. The vessel was able to catch 4 specimens all at a depth bellow 2,171 m. Research and taxonomic placement where taken over by the Japanese Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC). Suruga Bay is the deepest bay in Japan, and is a major site of commercial fishing, discovery of a new species of large fish in this area was a huge discovery.

Physical and Morphological Traits
Yokozuna slickhead is an uncharacteristically large fish for a member belonging to the Alepocephalidae family, regular members of this family have an average length of about 14 inches but the Yokozuna Iwashi has a length of 55 inches and a weight of 55 pounds, similar to the size of a small child. Outside of its colossal size to other members of the family the Yokozuna has a number of unique physical traits consisting of anal fin entirely behind the dorsal fin, a broad wide gape mouth containing multiserial teeth on jaws, more scale rows than congeners, precaudal vertebrae less than 30, 7 branchiostegal rays, two epurals, and small head in comparison to its relatives.

Lifestyle
Yokozuna also differs from its relatives in its lifestyle, most slick heads are benthopelagic or mesopelagic feeders primarily eating gelatinous zooplankton placing them at a relatively low trophic level. Analyses of the dietary tracts of Narcetes shonanmaruae as well as behavioural observations showed proof the fish partakes in a piscivorous diet. The fish is thought to feed primarily on other fish and is thought to be an apex predatory with one of the highest trophic positions observed in the deep sea, (TP=4.9). Yokozuna Iwashi is also a much stronger swimmer than other members of its family, proven by camera footage captured showing the almost 1 meter long fish making fast movements 2000 m below sea-level behind the power of a very strong tail fin. Analyses of the nitrogen in the amino acid of the fishes body lead scientist to believe Yokozuna is a predator situated at the top of the food chain.

Global Habitats
Yokozuna is a deep-water dwelling fish in an environment almost completely devoid of all light. The Alepocephalidae family are globally distributed however Narcetes shonanmaruae has only been identified in Suruga Bay, Japan off the last of Shizouka prefecture.

Common name
The Narcetes shonanmaruae received its common name Yokozuna Iwashi from the highest sumo wrestler class Yokozuna, the second part of its scientific name, shonanmaruae, is taken from the vessel that discovered it the Shonan Maru.

References (oceanography)

 * 1) Masahiro Yoneyama (26, Jan 2021). "Unkown sumo chanmpion-class fish species found of Shizuoka"
 * 2) Fujiwara, Yoshihiro, et al. “Discovery of a Colossal Slickhead (Alepocephaliformes: Alepocephalidae): An Active-Swimming Top Predator in the Deep Waters of Suruga Bay, Japan.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 25 Jan. 2021, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-80203-6#Sec15.
 * 3) Pskhun. “[Ichthyology • 2021] Narcetes Shonanmaruae • Discovery of a Colossal Slickhead (Alepocephaliformes: Alepocephalidae): An Active-Swimming Top Predator in the Deep Waters of Suruga Bay, Japan.” [Ichthyology • 2021] Narcetes Shonanmaruae • Discovery of A Colossal Slickhead (Alepocephaliformes: Alepocephalidae): An Active-Swimming Top Predator in the Deep Waters of Suruga Bay, Japan, 1 Jan. 1970, http://novataxa.blogspot.com/2021/01/narcetes-shonanmaruae.html.
 * 4) “Narcetes Shonanmaruae Summary Page.” FishBase, https://www.fishbase.se/summary/69365.
 * 5) Poulsen, Jan Y, et al. Academic.oup.com, https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/article/98/4/923/2448062?login=true.
 * 6) Lucy, Lucy. “Scientists Stumbled onto Toothy Deep-Sea ‘Top Predator," and Named It after Elite Sumo Wrestlers.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 13 Feb. 2021, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-species-fish-yokazuna-slickhead-deep-sea-predator-japan/.