Bassogigas gillii
No common name
NS
GNR
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Ophidiiformes (Pearlfishes and others)
Ophidiidae (Cusk-Eels)
Bassogigas
Bassogigas gillii
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
Moderately elongate and tapering posteriorly, with a moderate-sized head and a long snout. Snout is acute and does not overhang lower jaw. Mouth is large and slightly oblique. Maxilla is posterodorsally sheathed. Teeth are granular, close-set, and occur in jaws and vomer in inverted-V-shaped patch. Gill rakers on first arch number seven to nine. Two median basibranchial tooth patches are present. Opercular spine is stout. Basibranchial rays number 8. Pectoral fin is moderate in size but less than one-half head length and has 27 to 31 rays. Dorsal fin originates posterior to pectoral fin base and has 106 rays. Pelvic fins are located close together under preopercula, and each consists of 2 filamentous rays. Anal fin has 84 rays. Lateral line is distinct. Trunk vertebrae number 15 or 16.
Color is grayish brown, with fins slightly darker.
Distribution
In the western Atlantic it has been captured off Delaware and in the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana and Alabama.
Habitat Associations
Tropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean at 2,022 m
Biology
Maximum known size is 850 mm TL
Uncommon species (Ref. 34024). Oviparous, with oval pelagic eggs floating in a gelatinous mass (Ref. 205).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2018-10-11. Resilience: Medium (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from the other species of the family by the combination of characters described
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: of no interest.
References
Grey 1956
Cohen and Nielsen 1978
Nielsen and Cohen 1986
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
Nielsen, J.G. and D.M. Cohen (1986) Ophidiidae. p. 345-350. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Mincarone, M.M., J.G. Nielsen and P.A.S. Costa (2008) Deep-sea ophidiiform fishes collected on the Brazilian continental slope, between 11° and 23°S. Zootaxa 1770:41-64.
Nielsen, J.G. and P.R. Møller (2011) Revision of the bathyal cusk-eels of the genus Bassogigas (Ophidiidae) with description of a new species from off Guam, west Pacific Ocean. J. Fish Biol. 78(3):783-795. DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8649.2010.02892.x
Comments On Bassogigas gillii