Argyropelecus gigas
No common name
NS
G5
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Stomiiformes
Sternoptychidae (Marine Hatchetfishes)
Argyropelecus
Argyropelecus gigas
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
Short and deep bodied, with moderately large, vertical mouth and dorsally directed, tubular eyes. Jaws have small, recurved teeth, with a pair of canines in premaxillae. Gill rakers of first arch are well developed and number 18 to 22. Branchiostegal rays number 10, with 3 on epihyal. Upper preopercular spine is short, extending posteriorly to operculum. Lower preopercular spine is long and curves anteriorly in adults. Dorsal blade is high (its height is greater than one-third its length), is derived from seven dorsal fin radials, and exposed parts of posterior two radials are fused. Abdominal keel is deep. Postabdominal spines are short and of equal length. Spinelets are absent on anterior margin of dorsal blade and on ventral keel. Pectoral fin has 10 or 11, dorsal fin has 9, pelvic fin has 6, and anal fin has 13 rays. Dorsal adipose fin is long based. ORB is pigmented. BR number 6, and OP number 3. IP number 6, PV number 12, and VAV number 4. OA are in two groups of 2 and 6 photophores. AC are in two loose aggregations of 6 and 4 photophores. VAV and AC photophores are discrete (do not share common photogenic mass). Vertebrae number 36 to 39.
Color is dark dorsally and silvery on flank.
Distribution
Off the eastern seaboard of the United States, south of about 40°N
In the Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Tropical to subtropical seas between 300 and 650 m
Biology
Maximum known size is 120 mm SL
An oceanic and mesopelagic species (Ref. 4739). No indication of diel migration (Ref. 4739). Adult complement of photophores acquired at about 1.4 cm SL (Ref. 4739).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2014-07-15. Resilience: Medium (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: of no interest.
References
Schultz 1964
Bright and Pequegnat 1969
Baird 1971
Baird 1986
Rass 1971
Murdy 1983
Badcock 1984b
Weitzman, S.H. (1986) Sternoptychidae. p. 253-259. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Quéro, J.-C., J.C. Njock and M.M. de la Hoz (1990) Sternoptychidae. p. 275-282. 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.
Badcock, J. (1984) Sternoptychidae. p. 302-317. In P.J.P. Whitehead, M.-L. Bauchot, J.-C. Hureau, J. Nielsen and E. Tortonese (eds.) Fishes of the north-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. volume 1. UNESCO, Paris.
Nakamura, I., T. Inada, M. Takeda and H. Hatanaka (1986) Important fishes trawled off Patagonia. Japan Marine Fishery Resource Research Center, Tokyo. 369 p.
Bigelow, H.B., D.M. Cohen, M.M. Dick, R.H. Gibbs Jr., M. Grey, J.E. Morrow Jr., L.P. Schultz and V. Walters (1964) Fishes of the western North Atlantic. Part four. New Haven, Sears Found. Mar. Res., Yale Univ.
Bogutskaya, N.G. (2007) Preliminary assignment of coordinates to type localities in the Catalog of Fishes. Unpublished dbf file.
Patzner, R.A. (2008) Reproductive strategies of fish. pp. 311-350. In Rocha, M.J., A. Arukwe and B.G. Kapoor (eds). Fish reproduction: cytology, biology and ecology. Science Publisher, Inc. Oxford. 631 p.
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