Gigantura indica
No common name
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Aulopiformes
Giganturidae (Telescopefish)
Gigantura
Gigantura indica
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
Very slender and slightly compressed, with a very short snout and a relatively slender caudal peduncle. Body depth does not obviously increase with increase in growth; depth at dorsal fin origin ranges from 4.6% to 9.9%, at anal fin origin ranges from 4.2% to 7.4%, and at caudal peduncle ranges from 2% to 3.6% of SL. Length of head is 12% to 19%, snout length is 1.5% to 3.5%, eye diameter is 3.2% to 5.8%, and upper jaw length is 7.9% to 15% of SL. Gills extend onto throat region. Premaxilla and lower jaw have enlarged, recurved, depressible canine teeth and smaller teeth of irregular size lateral to larger teeth. Pectoral fin has 36 to 42 rays. Dorsal fin has 16 to 19 rays and originates just posterior to midlength of body. Anal fin has 11 to 14 rays and originates posterior to dorsal fin base. Caudal peduncle is about equal in depth and width.
Color is black to grayish brown in preservative, and iridescent silvery in life.
Distribution
Southeastern United States
Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Mesopelagic depths in tropical and subtropical seas
Biology
Maximum known size is 232 mm SL.
Transformation between larval and juvenile stages takes place between 25 and 55 mm SL.
Meso- and bathypelagic (Ref. 58302). The species is rare. Inhabits deep water. Famous for its bizarre shape and unusual eyes.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2013-05-16. Resilience: Medium (Assuming tmax>3).
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from other species of the family by the combination of characters described.
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: of no interest.
References
Walthers 1964 (as Bathyleptus indicus)
Johnson 1986b (as Rosaura indica)
Johnson and Bertelsen 1991
Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea and W.B. Scott (1991) World fishes important to North Americans. Exclusive of species from the continental waters of the United States and Canada. Am. Fish. Soc. Spec. Publ. (21):243 p.
Johnson, R.K. (1986) Giganturidae. p. 273-274. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Johnson, R.K. and E. Bertelsen (1991) The fishes of the family Giganturidae: systematics, development, distribution and aspects of biology. Dana Rept. No. 91:1-45.
Mundy, B.C. (2005) Checklist of the fishes of the Hawaiian Archipelago. Bishop Mus. Bull. Zool. (6):1-704.
Hay, A., W. Xian, N. Bailly, C. Liang and D. Pauly (2020) The why and how of determining length-weight relationships of fish from preserved museum specimens. J. Appl. Ichthyol. 36(3):373-379. DOI: 10.1111/jai.14014
Comments On Gigantura indica