Avocettina infans
No common name
NS
GNR
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Anguilliformes (True Eels)
Nemichthyidae (Snipe Eels)
Avocettina
Avocettina infans
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 and strongly compressed body; anus behind pectoral fins; upper jaw longer than lower jaw with slightly expanded tips forming small spatulate knobs; eye length 24-47% of distance from postorbital margin to upper end of pectoral fin base; predorsal length 21-39% of distance from posterior margin to anal fin origin; dermal ridges behind eyes, anterior nostril, on snout, and nape; 8-14 infraorbital, 5-8 supraorbital, and 1 supratemporal head pores; 14-18 pectoral fin rays; 279-432 dorsal fin rays; 240-372 anal fin rays; anterior 9-15 dorsal fin rays close-set; 181-201 lateral line pores; 16-26 preanal, 5-8 predorsal, and 3-8 prepectoral lateral line pores; 187-202 total vertebrae; 5-9 predorsal, 17-22 preanal, and 62-70 precaudal vertebrae
Brown, slightly darker along lateral line; mature males have short jaws and dorsal fin originating slightly anterior to pectoral fin base
Distribution
Southern New England to northern Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea
Habitat Associations
Midwater, generally between 1,200 and 2,000 m, and rarely at 170 m
Biology
Maximum known size is 800 mm TL
Meso- and bathypelagic (Ref. 58302). Feed on crustaceans (Ref. 3247). Oviparous, with planktonic leptocephali (Ref. 32364). Degenerative changes in males and females suggest semelparity (Ref. 32364). Minimum depth reported taken from Ref. 86942.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders. Oviparous (Ref. 3247).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2011-03-07. Resilience: Low (Assuming tmax>10).
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from other species of the family by the combination of characters described
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: of no interest.
References
Nielsen and Smith 1978
Smith and Nielsen 1989
Smith 1989n
Nielsen, J.G. (1984) Nemichthyidae (including Avocettinopsidae). p. 551-554. 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. UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2.
Smith, D.G. (1990) Nemichthyidae. p. 199-202. 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.
Hart, J.L. (1973) Pacific fishes of Canada. Bull. Fish. Res. Board Can. 180:740 p.
Mundy, B.C. (2005) Checklist of the fishes of the Hawaiian Archipelago. Bishop Mus. Bull. Zool. (6):1-704.
Love, M.S., C.W. Mecklenburg, T.A. Mecklenburg and L.K. Thorsteinson (2005) Resource inventory of marine and estuarine fishes of the West Coast and Alaska: A checklist of North Pacific and Arctic Ocean species from Baja California to the Alaska-Yukon border. U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, Seattle, Washington, 98104.
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