Gempylus serpens
Snake Mackerel
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Gempylidae (Snake Mackerels)
Gempylus
Gempylus serpens (Snake Mackerel)
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.)
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Characters
Very elongate, slender, and compressed body; terminal processes on both jaws; series of finlets behind second dorsal and anal fins; pelvic fin greatly reduced; head gently elevated from snout to dorsal fin origin; anterior naris closer to anterior margin of eye than to tip of snout; posterior naris elliptical and closer to anterior margin of eye than to anterior naris; lower jaw projects beyond upper jaw; maxilla covered when mouth is closed; upper jaw with three immovable and zero to three movable fanglike teeth on side of symphysis, followed by a row of small, compressed canine teeth; lower jaw lacks fangs on side of symphysis but has a row of small, compressed, caninelike teeth; vomer lacks teeth; palatine has a row of small teeth; numerous short, spinelike gill rakers on first gill arch; head length 17%–18% SL; body depth 6%–7% SL; pectoral fin less than one-third of head length with 12 to 15 rays; first dorsal fin originates over upper corner of operculum with 26 to 32 spines; second dorsal fin with 1 minute spine and 11 to 14 rays followed by five or six finlets; pelvic fin with 1 minute spine and 3 or 4 rays; anal fin originates under origin of second dorsal fin with 2 free spines followed by 1 spine and 10 to 12 rays connected by membranes, and followed by six or seven finlets; lateral line double with both branches originating below origin of first dorsal fin; vertebrae number 48 to 55 (24 to 29 precaudal and 23 to 26 caudal)
Uniformly dark brown, including fins
Distribution
New York and Bermuda to northern South America, including the Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Tropical to temperate seas from the surface to 200 m
Biology
Squids, pelagic crustaceans, and ray-finned fishes, such as myctophids, exocoetids, scomberesocids, and scombrids
Maximum known size is 100 cm SL
Fecundity ranges from 300,000 to 1,000,000 eggs; males mature at 430 mm SL; females mature at 500 mm SL
Strictly oceanic and usually solitary (Ref. 6181). Adults migrate to the surface at night while larvae and juveniles are found near the surface during the day (Ref. 6181). Feed on fishes, cephalopods and crustaceans (Ref. 9302). Males mature at 43 cm SL, females at 50 cm (Ref. 36731). Eggs and larvae are pelagic (Ref. 6766). Sold frozen, as sausages or fish cake (Ref. 9302). Not eaten raw, but cooked in any way, also dried (Ref. 7364).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-08-23. Resilience: Medium (Fec=300,000).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial.
References
Grey 1953
Fujii 1983d
Robins and Ray 1986
Nakamura and Parin 1993
Nakamura and Parin 2001b
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.
Cervigón, F. (1994) Los peces marinos de Venezuela. Volume 3. Fundación Científica Los Roques, Caracas,Venezuela. 295 p.
Figueiredo, J.L. and N.A. Menezes (2000) Manual de peixes marinhos do sudeste do Brasil. VI.Teleostei (5). Museu de Zoologia, Universidade de São Paulo. Brazil. 116 p.
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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