Hyperoglyphe bythites
Black Driftfish
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Centrolophidae (Medusafishes)
Hyperoglyphe
Hyperoglyphe bythites (Black Driftfish)
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 deep bodied and moderately compressed, with short, stout dorsal fin spines; spinous preopercular margin; pelvic fin inserts under pectoral fin base. Dorsal profile of head strongly convex, snout very blunt. Nares near tip of snout, anterior naris round, posterior naris slitlike. Eye lacks adipose tissue. Mouth moderately oblique, lower jaw included in upper jaw, upper jaw extending to below eye. Preoperculum striated, margin with many small spines. Opercular margin finely denticulate or entire. Gill rakers on first arch: 6 or 7 on upper limb, 1 in corner, 15 or 16 on lower limb. Measurements (% SL): head length 31%–34%, snout length 7%–9%, eye diameter 7%–8%, upper jaw length 11%–12%, pectoral fin length 23%–27%, pelvic fin length 17%–19%, caudal peduncle depth 10%–12%, body depth 43%–47%. Pectoral fin with 20 or 21 rays. Dorsal fin originates over or slightly behind pectoral fin base, with 7 or 8 spines and 22 to 25 rays. Anal fin with 3 spines and 16 or 17 rays. Body, operculum, and bases of median fins covered with moderately large cycloid scales. Lateral line arched anteriorly to midlength of anal fin base, with about 87 scales. Vertebrae: 25 (10 precaudal, 15 caudal).
Greenish gray or bluish gray to reddish brown, darker dorsally than ventrally. Median fins usually darker than body.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from southern Florida to the Gulf of Mexico, or possibly to Brazil.
In the Gulf of Mexico, known from the west coast of Florida and from Alabama, Louisiana, and Veracruz.
Habitat Associations
Between 30 and 200 m depth. Adults found near the bottom, forming large schools. Juveniles found at the surface, associated with flotsam.
Biology
Maximum known size is 600 mm TL.
Oviparous, eggs are pelagic (Ref. 205).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2011-08-08. Resilience: Medium (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial.
References
Ginsburg 1954 (as Palinurichthys bythites)
Dawson 1972a
Hoese and Moore 1977
Robins and Ray 1986
Boschung 1992
Hoese and Moore 1998
Haedrich 2002a
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray (1986) A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p.
Bogutskaya, N.G. (2007) Preliminary assignment of coordinates to type localities in the Catalog of Fishes. Unpublished dbf file.
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