Bufoceratias wedli

Bufocertaias wedli is known only from metamorphosed females which have the second, club-like exposed cephalic spine bearing a bioluminescent organ at its tip which characterises the family. They also have a large mouth which reaches back beyond the eye, a well developed spine on the symphysis ov the mandible which reaches just past the maxilla, the presence of vomerine teeth, there are spines in the skin, the dorsal fin has between five and seven rays while the anal fin has four rays and they have a small pelvic bone which is joined to the cleithrum. The second cephalic spine is positioned directly behind the base of the first cephalic spine, or illicium and can be pulled down beneath the skin in individuals with a total length greater than 1.3 cm (0.51 in) leaving a small pore to show its location. They are distinguished from the metamorphosed females of Diceratias, the other genus in the family, by having an illicium which is equivalent to 25% to 225% of the standard length compared to 27% to 41%, the forward tip of the illicium's pterygiophore is hidden in the skin while in Diceratias it is exposed. The illicium has its origin at the base of the skull rather than on the snout and the illicial trough is shallow, rather than deep, and the spinules on the skin are much smaller. B. wedli differs from its congeners in that its illicium is longer than that of B. …

Bufoceratias wedli is found in tropical and subtopical waters on the continental shelf and continental slopes at depths between 300 and 1,750 m (980 and 5,740 ft), typically no lower than 1,500 m (4,900 ft). In the Western Atlantic it is found from Virginia and Bermuda, south through the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico to the waters off southern Brazil. In the eastern Atlantic it ranges from off mainland Portugal south to Namibia, including the Macaronesian Islands, the islands in the Gulf of Guinea, Saint Helena and Ascension Island. Records from the Pacific Ocean are now considered to be misidentifications of B. thele.

Bufocertaias wedli is the type species of the genus Bufoceratias, this name is a combination of bufo meaning "toad" with Ceratias, as when Whitley described it, it was classified within the family Ceratiidae. Whitley did bot explain the use of bufo but it is possible that it is a variation on phryne, another word for "toad" which is a suffix commonly applied to anglerfish genera. It may also be evoking Bufichthys. The specific name honours Anton Wedl, an Austrian businessman and philanthropist for his support of the University of Vienna and its students in the hardships it and they suffered following the end of the First World War and for his interest in the University's natural history museum, Peitschmann's workplace.