Epigonus occidentalis
No common name
NS
GNR
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Epigonidae (Deepwater Cardinalfishes)
Epigonus
Epigonus occidentalis
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
Pungent, bony opercular spine; moderately long caudal peduncle; head moderate to short; snout moderately short and blunt; maxilla extends to anterior one-fourth to two-fifths of eye length; teeth conical, in 1-4 rows in jaws and vomer, and in a single row in palatine; tongue lacks teeth; preopercular angle produced and rounded or pointed with serrations and striations; opercular spine below 1-3 poorly ossified spinelets; gill rakers short and awl-like, 22-27 on first arch; head length 31%-38% SL, head depth 13%-17% SL, interorbital width 6%-9% SL, caudal peduncle length 22%-28% SL, body depth 14%-20% SL; eye diameter 41%-52% head length; pectoral fin rays 19-21; first dorsal fin VII slender spines, second dorsal fin I, 10 (rarely 9) rays; anal fin II, 9 (rarely II, 8) rays; lateral line scales 46-51; pyloric caecae 8-13; vertebrae 15 precaudal and 15 caudal
Blackish brown; dorsal, pelvic, and anal fins yellowish; caudal fin grayish brown; in preservative, light grayish brown; mouth cavity lacks pigment in juveniles but is black in adults
Distribution
Western Atlantic from northern and western Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Depth range: 360-737 m
Biology
Maximum known size: 179 mm SL
A mesobenthic-pelagic species living mainly above the bottom (Ref. 31632). Minimum depth (Ref. 132290).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2018-10-12. Resilience: Medium (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: of potential interest.
References
Mayer 1974
Gon 2002b
Abramov, A.A. (1992) Species composition and distribution of Epigonus (Epigonidae) in the world ocean. J. Ichthyol. 32(5):94-108.
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.
De La Hoz-M, J., J. Motta and J. Paramo (2016) Length-weight relationships for 36 deep sea fish in the Colombian Caribbean Sea. J. Appl. Ichthyol. 32:1356-1359. DOI: 10.1111/jai.13217
Comments On Epigonus occidentalis