Idiacanthus fasciola
No common name
NS
G5
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
There are no photos available for this taxon yet.
Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Stomiiformes
Stomiidae (Dragonfishes)
Idiacanthus
Idiacanthus fasciola
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.
It may contain errors in spelling, punctuation, or formatting.
When citing, please reference the original source rather than this page.
Learn more about our species accounts.
Characters
Very elongate and very slender, with a very long-based dorsal fin. Body depth is 2.9% to 4.7% and head length is 5.8% to 8.35% of SL. Females have 8 to 11 fanglike premaxillary teeth, 4 to 6 fanglike and 4 smaller maxillary teeth, and about 16 fanglike mandibular teeth. Chin barbel of females is 2 times head length, with distal end expanded to form narrow leaflike appendage with small flap and filament at base. Dorsal fin originates at about 31% to 34.3% of SL and has 54 to 74 rays. Pelvic fin base is anterior to midlength, and fin has 6 rays. Anal fin is about one-half length of dorsal fin and has 39 to 49 rays. Dorsal and anal fin rays have lateral spinelike projections. IV number 31 to 36, and VAV number 15 to 18. OV number 21 to 25, and VAL number 30 to 36. AC number 13 to 18. Postorbital luminous organ is smaller than eye in females but is equal to or larger than eye in males. White luminous tissue is present in three longitudinal rows on each side. Fin rays are lined with luminous tissue.
Color is black to dark brownish black.
Distribution
Along the eastern seaboard of the United States from about 40°N to the Straits of Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea.
Habitat Associations
Subtropical to temperate seas, worldwide. Depth range: females 500 to 2,000 m during the day and near the surface to 250 m during the night; males between 1,000 and 2,000 m night and day; larvae in subsurface waters.
Biology
Food consists of myctophids and other midwater fishes. Apparently males do not feed as their digestive tract is degenerate.
Maximum known size of males is 32 to 44 mm SL and of females is 290 mm SL.
Spawning takes place at great depths. Fecundity is about 14,000 eggs. Larvae have their eyes at the end of long, slender stalks and have pectoral fins.
Mesopelagic in depths exceeding 500 m (Ref. 7249) and bathypelagic (Ref. 58302). Females undergo diel vertical migrations (Ref. 7249).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2013-05-19. Resilience: Low (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from other species of the family by the combination of characters described.
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: bycatch.
References
Gibbs 1964b
Gibbs 1984f
Rass 1971
Murdy et al. 1983
Hulley 1986a
Sutton and Hopkins in press
Hulley, P.A. (1986) Idiacanthidae. p. 234-235. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Krueger, W.H. (1990) Idiacanthidae. p. 341-342. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 1.
Nakamura, I., T. Inada, M. Takeda and H. Hatanaka (1986) Important fishes trawled off Patagonia. Japan Marine Fishery Resource Research Center, Tokyo. 369 p.
Bigelow, H.B., D.M. Cohen, M.M. Dick, R.H. Gibbs Jr., M. Grey, J.E. Morrow Jr., L.P. Schultz and V. Walters (1964) Fishes of the western North Atlantic. Part four. New Haven, Sears Found. Mar. Res., Yale Univ.
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.
Comments On Idiacanthus fasciola