Bellottia apoda
No common name
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Ophidiiformes (Pearlfishes and others)
Bythitidae (Viviparous Brotulas)
Bellottia
Bellottia apoda
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (Carpenter, K.E. (ed.) 2002. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. FAO, Rome.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
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Characters
Body shape: fusiform / normal. Mouth is large, with strong jaws; six caudal rays (Ref. 13359). Swim-bladder present; pelvic fins absent; several sharp spines present at lower angle of opercle; precaudal vertebrae 10 to 12; caudal fin broadly joined to dorsal and anal fins; male intromittent organ lacking ossified parts; females have genital pores (Ref. 34024).
Distribution
Tropical Atlantic and Mediterranean.
Habitat Associations
Marine. bathydemersal. depth range 30-569 m.
Biology
To 7 cm.
Depth range from 30-500 m (Ref. 6526) and from 460-569 m in the eastern Ionian Sea (Ref. 56504). The food of Bellottia apoda appears to be a mixture of planktonic and benthic preys (Ref. 13359). Viviparous (Ref. 6526). Uncommon species (Ref. 34024), but it is not so rare as it seemed in the Adriatic Sea (Ref. 13359).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: internal (oviduct); bearers (internal live bearers). Viviparous (Ref. 34024).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2018-01-09. Resilience: Low (Fec=30-180).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: of no interest.
References
Nielsen, J.G. (1990) Bythitidae. p. 574-575. 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. 2.
Gramitto, M.E. and B. Coen (1997) New records of Bellotia apoda (Bythitidae) in the Adriatic sea with notes on morphology and biology. Cybium 21(2):163-172.
Nielsen, J.G., D.M. Cohen, D.F. Markle and C.R. Robins (1999) Ophidiiform fishes of the world (Order Ophidiiformes). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of pearlfishes, cusk-eels, brotulas and other ophidiiform fishes known to date. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(18):178p. Rome: FAO.
Mytilineou, C., C.-Y. Politou, C. Papaconstantinou, S. Kavadas, G. D'Onghia and L. Sion (2005) Deep-water fish fauna in the Eastern Ionian Sea. Belg. J. Zool., 135(2):229-233.
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