Cyclothone microdon
No common name
NS
G5
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Stomiiformes
Gonostomatidae (Bristlemouths)
Cyclothone
Cyclothone microdon
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
Premaxillary teeth uniserial and of moderate and equal size; teeth in posterior section of maxilla slanted anteriorly and rather unequal in length; pseudobranch absent; gill filaments short and fused basally into broad, crescent-shaped band along hypobranch; gill rakers on first arch number 19 to 22; branchiostegal rays number 12 to 14; dorsal fin opposite anal fin; anterior rays of dorsal and anal fins moderately elongated; last dorsal and anal fin rays not split to base; dorsal adipose fin absent; anus closer to pelvic fin base than to anal fin origin; dorsal fin has 13 or 14 rays, and anal fin has 17 to 20 rays; photophores lacking on symphysis of lower jaw and from isthmus; specific photophore counts: ORB 1, OP 2, BR 9 or 10, IP 2 or 3, PV 10, VAV 5, OA 8 or 9, AC 14 or 15
Color is dark brown
Distribution
In the western Atlantic from 60°N to the Caribbean Sea, including the Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Tropical to temperate seas; juveniles and adults generally caught from 500 to 2,700 m, larvae occur from the surface to 50 m
Biology
Food consists mainly of copepods
Maximum known size is 49 mm SL for males and 66 mm SL for females
Individuals are protandric hermaphrodites; all individuals are functional males, then switch to functional females at 22 to 42 mm SL; spawning occurs during the summer and fall; ripe eggs are about 0.5 mm in diameter, and fecundity ranges from 2,000 to 10,000 eggs
An oceanic, deep mesopelagic to bathypelagic species (Ref. 4769). Precise depth range dependent upon developmental stage, latitude, season (Ref. 4769). Doest not exhibit diel vertical migrations (Ref. 4769). A non-seasonal breeder with no recognizable age-cohorts (Ref. 82363). Feeds mainly on copepods (Ref. 4769).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2013-05-22. Resilience: Medium (Assuming tm>1; Fec=2,000-10,000).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: of no interest.
References
Mukhacheva 1964
Rass 1971
Bekker et al. 1975
Badcock 1984a
Schaefer et al. 1986b
Schaefer, S., R.K. Johnson and J. Badcock (1986) Gonostomatidae. p. 247-253. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Quéro, J.-C., J.C. Njock and M.M. de la Hoz (1990) Gonostomatidae. p. 283-292. 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.
Badcock, J. (1984) Gonostomatidae. p. 284-301. 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. volume 1. UNESCO, Paris.
Clemens, W.A. and G.V. Wilby (1961) Fishes of the Pacific coast of Canada. 2nd ed. Fish. Res. Bd. Canada Bull. (68):443 p.
Coad, B.W. and J.D. Reist (2004) Annotated list of the arctic marine fishes of Canada. Can. MS Rep. Fish Aquat. Sci. 2674:iv:+112 p.
Comments On Cyclothone microdon