Chlorophthalmus agassizi
Shortnose Greeneye
NS
G5
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Aulopiformes
Chlorophthalmidae (Greeneyes)
Chlorophthalmus
Chlorophthalmus agassizi (Shortnose Greeneye)
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 a relatively short mouth and large eyes. Body depth 12.6% to 18.8%, head length 27% to 33.5%, and snout length 8.4% to 10% of SL. Teeth in jaws are small and arranged in bands. Similar teeth occur in vomer and palatine. Eye is directed dorsolaterally and has keyhole-shaped pupil. Gill rakers number 19 to 22 on lower limb of first arch. Pectoral fin is of moderate length and has 15 to 17 rays. Dorsal fin originates just posterior to pelvic fin insertion and has 10 or 11 rays. Pelvic fin is sub-thoracic in location and has 8 or 9 rays. Anal fin is located beneath dorsal adipose fin and has 7 to 9 rays. Caudal fin is forked, and upper and lower lobes are of about equal length. Scales are present on cheeks, operculum, body, and base of caudal fin. Lateral line scales number 50 to 55. Vertebrae number 47.
Color is light brown to yellow, with dark blotches on side of trunk and black mid-dorsal stripe. Eye is greenish.
Distribution
Cape Cod to Suriname, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea
Habitat Associations
Tropical to warm temperate waters of the Atlantic Ocean, from 50 to 1,000 m
Mud and clay bottoms
Biology
Maximum known size is 200 mm SL
Found on the continental shelf and upper slope over mud and clay bottom. Catch data indicate a schooling habit. Feeds mainly on bottom-living invertebrates. Also known to feed on pelagic crustaceans like euphausiids, decapods and mysids (Ref. 27637). A hermaphroditic species. Marketed fresh and sometimes made into fishmeal (Ref. 6688). Young are pelagic, living near the surface, the adults are demersal, living between 50 and 1000 m depth (Ref. 47377).
Reproductive mode: true hermaphroditism; nonguarders.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2015-04-13. Resilience: Medium (Assuming tm=3-4).
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from other species of the family by the combination of characters
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial.
References
Mead 1966e
Sulak 1984c
C. R. Robins et al. 1986
Boschung 1992
Merrett, N.R. (1990) Chlorophthalmidae. p. 351-360. 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.
Gloerfelt-Tarp, T. and P.J. Kailola (1984) Trawled fishes of southern Indonesia and northwestern Australia. Australian Development Assistance Bureau, Australia, Directorate General of Fishes, Indonesia, and German Agency for Technical Cooperation, Federal Republic of Germany. 407 p.
Sulak, K.J. (1984) Chlorophthalmidae. p. 412-420. 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.
Bianchi, G., K.E. Carpenter, J.-P. Roux, F.J. Molloy, D. Boyer and H.J. Boyer (1999) FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. Field guide to the living marine resources of Namibia. FAO, Rome. 265 p.
Bowman, R.E., C.E. Stillwell, W.L. Michaels and M.D. Grosslein (2000) Food of northwest Atlantic fishes and two common species of squid. NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-NE 155, 138 p.
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