Borostomias mononema
No common name
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Stomiiformes
Stomiidae (Dragonfishes)
Borostomias
Borostomias mononema
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 moderately slender, with enlarged, fanglike teeth in the jaws and a moderately long chin barbel. Chin barbel is slightly less than head length. Tip of barbel consists of bulbous black proximal part and narrow pale distal part, usually with one or more filaments. Bulb is less than twice as long as it is wide. Fanglike teeth of jaws are slightly larger than other jaw teeth and are curved. Maxillary teeth are widely spaced, slightly curved anteriorly, and number 10 to 12. Gill rakers are replaced by several groups of small teeth. Dorsal fin is slightly posterior to insertion of pelvic fin, and distance from dorsal fin origin to caudal fin base is 45% of SL. Dorsal fin has 13 rays, and anal fin has 18 rays. Ventral adipose fin is absent. Serial photophores are not broken into small groups, and those of ventral row are straight. IP number 10 or 11, PV number 25 or 26, and VAV number 22 to 25. OV number 20 to 25, and VAL number 21 to 25. AC number 12 and are curved dorsally posterior to anal fin base. Po organ is double, with small anterior and large posterior parts.
Color is black.
Distribution
In the western Atlantic it occurs in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.
Gulf of Mexico (26°36'N, 90°41'W)
Habitat Associations
Tropical seas, captured from the surface to 670 m in the Gulf of Mexico
Biology
Food consists of fishes.
Maximum known size is 300 mm SL.
An oceanic and mesopelagic species usually found deeper than 500 m during the day (Ref. 2802). Feeds on midwater fishes and crustaceans (Ref. 2802).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-05-22. Resilience: Medium (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from other species by the combination of characters described.
References
Regan and Trewavas 1929
Gibbs 1964a
Gibbs 1984a
Gibbs 1986b
Rass 1971
Sutton and Hopkins in press
Gibbs, R.H. Jr. (1984) Astronesthidae. p. 325-335. 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.
Gibbs, R.H. Jr. (1990) Astronesthidae. p. 300-307. 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.
Weitkamp, D.E. and R.D. Sullivan (2003) Gas bubble disease in resident fish of the lower Clark Fork River. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 132(5):865-876.
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.
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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