page_title: Ipnops meadi
section_title: Physiology
hierarchical_section_title: Ipnops meadi / Physiology
caption_attribution_description: English: Ipnops murrayi Polski: Ipnops murrayi
context_page_description: Ipnops meadi, also known as the grideye fish, is a highly specialized species of Placodithyran abyssal fish found in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone of the Indo-Pacific Ocean. The species was named after Giles W. Mead of the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, a biology professor at Harvard, deep sea explorer, and ichthyologist.
context_section_description: Since all three species of Ipnops are primarily distinguished by their geography, all three species have roughly the same physiology. All Ipnops are generally characterized as long and slender fish lacking traditional ocular lenses found on most marine organisms. In place of eyes, grideye fish have flat bony membranes on top of their skull which act as photosensitive plates. Ipnops also have large mouths, given their size, and sharp, pointed teeth on both the palatine and vomer regions of the mouth.
  Based on the dissection of multiple samples, all species have roughly 13-15 anal rays, 13-15 pectoral fin rays, and 54-58 vertebrae. However, due to the species similarity, some scientists have suggested the Ipnops are hybrids and not reproductively isolated, or that Ipnops should just be a single species.
  From collections and dissections of Ipnops species, there are a few characteristics specific to I. meadi, compared to the other two species, including:
  Higher average number of lateral line scales
  Higher average number of vertebrae
  Higher average number of gill rakes on the anterior arch
  Absence of otoliths
caption: Ipnops murrayi[2]
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