Aldrovandia affinis
No common name
NS
GNR
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Notacanthiformes (Spiny Eels and Halosaurs)
Halosauridae (Halosaurs)
Aldrovandia
Aldrovandia affinis
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
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Characters
Elongate, slender, and moderately compressed body; spatulate, projecting snout; finely tapering tail; preanal body depth 10-12% gnathoproctal length; head length 24-26% gnathoproctal length; snout length 16-18% gnathoproctal length; preoral snout length 6-9% gnathoproctal length; blade of maxilla not ossified posterior to base of maxillary spine; lower jaw length less than distance from jaw articulation to posterior edge of preoperculum; palatine tooth patches meet on midline; 10 or 11 branchiostegal rays; 13-15 total gill rakers on first arch; pelvic fin base slightly anterior to dorsal fin origin; dorsal fin with 11-13 rays, first ray reduced to short, unarticulated vestige; 25-31 modified lateral line scales (placques) from gill cleft to anus; body covered with scales except on head except for lateral surface
Light brown to nearly white except for operculum, branchiostegal membranes, sides of body posterior to opercular opening, anal fin base, and midline of belly, which are dark brown to brownish lavender; lateral line lacks pigment
Distribution
New England to the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean
Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Depths of 878 to 2,560 m, nearly worldwide except polar and subpolar regions and the Mediterranean
Biology
Polychaetes, bivalves, copepods, decapods, and detritus
200 mm gnathoproctal length
Embryos develop into leptocephalous larvae
Occurs on the middle and lower slope primarily above the 4°C isotherm. Hovers within a few meters of substrate, parallel to it or inclined at varying angles (Ref. 6727). Feeds on polychaetes, pelecypods, amphipods and other benthic prey (Ref. 6727).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2011-02-23. Resilience: Low (Assuming tmax>10).
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from other species of the family by combination of characters
References
Grey 1958
McDowell 1973
M. E. Anderson et al. 1985
Sulak 1986a,d
Sulak, K.J. (1986) Halosauridae. p. 196-197. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Sulak, K.J. (1990) Halosauridae. p. 126-132. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 1.
Cohen, D.M., A.W. Ebeling, T. Iwamoto, S.B. McDowell, N.B. Marshall, D.E. Rosen, P. Sonoda, W.H. Weed III and L.P. Woods (1973) Fishes of the western North Atlantic. Part six. New Haven, Sears Found. Mar. Res., Yale Univ.
Grey, M. (1956) The distribution of fishes found below a depth of 2000 meters. Fieldiana (Zool.) 36(2):75-337.
Mundy, B.C. (2005) Checklist of the fishes of the Hawaiian Archipelago. Bishop Mus. Bull. Zool. (6):1-704.
Comments On Aldrovandia affinis