Bathysaurus mollis
No common name
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GNR
Collection Details
Specimens
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Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Aulopiformes
Bathysauridae
Bathysaurus
Bathysaurus mollis
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.)
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Characters
Moderately elongate, moderately slender, slightly depressed anteriorly, and compressed posteriorly, with a relatively long dorsal fin and a large horizontal mouth. Snout is long, depressed, and rounded in cross section. Body depth is 8.5% to 10.8%, head length is 22.3% to 23.9%, and snout length is 5.8% to 6.2% of SL. Lower jaw extends beyond upper jaw. Teeth in jaws are conical, recurved, and mostly depressible and are arranged in broad bands. Area at symphysis of lower jaw lacks teeth. Teeth also occur in vomer, palatine, tongue, and branchial arches. Branchiostegal rays number 8. Pectoral fin has 16 or 17 rays, and central rays are elongate. Dorsal fin originates anterior to midlength and posterior to pelvic fin insertion and has 15 to 17 rays. Anal fin has shorter base than dorsal fin and has 11 to 13 rays. Dorsal adipose fin is present. Cycloid scales are present on cheeks, gill covers, body, and base of caudal fin. Lateral line scales are somewhat enlarged, and no axillary scales occur at bases of paired fins. Vertebrae number 50 to 52.
Color is generally white, with peritoneum, branchial and buccal regions dark, but very large specimens are dark. Small specimens have faint vertical bars, and these sometimes persist in adults.
Distribution
Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Tropical to temperate seas between 1,554 and 4,700 m
Biology
400 to 650 mm SL
Benthic (Ref. 58302). Found on the continental rise and the abyss, commonly below 2,000 m, in water colder than 4°C. Larvae are probably pelagic in near-surface midwaters. Solitary, lurking bottom feeder. Probably piscivore (Ref. 4964).
Reproductive mode: true hermaphroditism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none. Contrary to Ref. 240 this species is an hermaphrodite (Ref. 7463).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2014-07-14. 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
Mead 1966b
Sulak 1977
Sulak 1986e
Anderson et al. 1985
Sulak, K.J. (1990) Synodontidae. p. 365-370. 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.
Sulak, K.J. (1984) Synodontidae (including Macristiidae and Bathysauridae). p. 405-411. 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. 1.
Nelson, J.S. (1994) Fishes of the world. Third edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York. 600 p.
McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm (1998) Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. Volume 1: Myxiniformes to Gasterosteiformes. University of Texas Press, Austin. 1112p.
Mead, G.W. (1966) Family Bathysauridae, Bathypteroidae, Ipnopidae and Chlorophthalmidae. p. 103-189. In W.W. Anderson et al. Fishes of the western North Atlantic. Part five. New Haven, Sears Found. Mar. Res., Yale Univ.
Mundy, B.C. (2005) Checklist of the fishes of the Hawaiian Archipelago. Bishop Mus. Bull. Zool. (6):1-704.
Comments On Bathysaurus mollis