Epinnula magistralis
Domine
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Gempylidae (Snake Mackerels)
Epinnula
Epinnula magistralis (Domine)
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, fairly deep bodied, and compressed, with a double lateral line and 2 sharp spines on corner of preoperculum. Head is slightly elevated to anterior naris and moderately elevated from anterior naris to dorsal fin origin. Anterior naris is located about one-third the distance between tip of snout and anterior margin of eye, and posterior naris is elliptical and located midway between anterior naris and anterior margin of eye. Lower jaw projects beyond upper jaw, and both jaws lack dermal processes on tips. Upper jaw has several fixed and flexible fangs near symphysis, followed by a row of widely spaced small canine teeth. Lower jaw has a single fang on side of symphysis, followed by a row of widely spaced caninelike teeth. Vomer lacks teeth, and palatine has a row of small conical teeth. Operculum has 2 flat spines along posterior margin. Measurements are expressed as percent of SL: head length 24%–33%, body depth 18%–24%. Pectoral fin has 15 rays. First dorsal fin originates above margin of preoperculum and has 15 or 16 strong spines. Second dorsal fin is located immediately behind first, is less than half the length of first, and has 13 to 17 rays. Pelvic fin is longer than pectoral fin, consists of 1 spine and 5 rays, and inserts posterior to pectoral fin base. Anal fin is similar to second dorsal fin in shape and position and has 2 free spines, followed by 1 spine and 13 to 17 rays connected by membranes. Lateral line is double, with lower branch splitting off upper branch under fifth or sixth dorsal fin spine and running near ventral contour.
Color is grayish blue, with head slightly darker than body. Fin membranes of dorsal and pelvic fins are black, basal section of caudal fin is dark blue, and remainder of fin is black.
Distribution
In the western Atlantic it occurs in the northern Gulf of Mexico, off Bermuda, and in the Caribbean Sea.
northern Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Marine. benthopelagic. depth range 100-185 m.
Biology
Maximum known size is 1,000 mm SL.
Rare species, probably mesobenthopelagic. Consumed as food (Ref. 4537). Reported to have been taken from 200-350 m in Jamaica (J. Tame pers. Comm. 08/16).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2018-10-09. Resilience: Low (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: subsistence fisheries.
References
Grey 1953
Robins and Ray 1986 (as Epinnula orientalis)
Nakamura and Parin 1993
Smith-Vaniz et al. 1999
Parin et al. 2002a
Nakamura, I. and N.V. Parin (1993) FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 15. Snake mackerels and cutlassfishes of the world (families Gempylidae and Trichiuridae). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of the snake mackerels, snoeks, escolars, gemfishes, sackfishes, domine, oilfish, cutlassfishes,. scabbardfishes, hairtails, and frostfishes known to date. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(15):136 p.
Mundy, B.C. (2005) Checklist of the fishes of the Hawaiian Archipelago. Bishop Mus. Bull. Zool. (6):1-704.
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.
Ho, H.-C., H. Motomura, H. Hata and W.-C. Jiang (2017) Review of the fish genus Epinnula Poey (Perciformes: Gempylidae), with description of a new species from the Pacific Ocean. Zootaxa 4363(3):393-408.
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