Leptoderma macrops
No common name
Collection Details
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Taxonomic Hierarchy
Alepocephalidae (Slickheads)
Leptoderma
Leptoderma macrops
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 elongate, slender, and slightly compressed, with a short, blunt snout and a very small caudal fin. Snout projects anterior to mouth, is less than eye diameter, and is about 3.8% to 5.3% of SL. Head length is about 17% to 21% of SL. Maxilla extends to anterior margin of eye. One supramaxilla occurs on dorsal margin of maxilla. Small, conical teeth occur in premaxilla, anterior section of maxilla, and dentaries. Teeth are lacking in vomer and palatine. First gill arch has 0 to 1 gill raker on epibranch and 11 to 14 on lower limb. Branchiostegal rays number 4 to 6. Pectoral fin is not fanlike—upper rays are longer than lower rays—and has 7 to 9 rays. Origin of dorsal fin is posterior to origin of anal fin, dorsal fin base is shorter than anal fin base, and both bases are continuous with small caudal fin. Dorsal fin has 57 to 67 rays, and anal fin has 78 to 85 rays. Pelvic fin has 5 or 6 rays. Head, body, and fins are covered with loose skin that is free of scales. Skin is covered with numerous papillae that are regularly arranged along lateral line, anal fin and dorsal fin bases, and along midline of back and on head. Trunk vertebrae number 17 to 19, and caudal vertebrae number 62 to 65. Pyloric caecae number two.
Color is dark filmy to semiglossy black.
Distribution
In the western Atlantic it occurs from the eastern Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and off Brazil.
eastern Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Benthopelagic at depths between 500 and 2,000 m.
Biology
Maximum known size is 240 mm SL.
Benthic on soft bottoms (Ref. 51024).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-07-11. Resilience: Medium (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from the other species of the family by the combination of characters described.
References
Mead and Bohlke 1953
Grey 1956
Rass 1971
Markle and Quero 1984
Markle 1986
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
Markle, D.F. (1986) Alepocephalidae. p. 218-223. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Markle, D.F. and Y.I. Sazanov (1990) Alepocephalidae. p. 246-264. 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.
Markle, D.F. and J.-C. Quéro (1984) Alepocephalidae (including Bathylaconidae, Bathyprionidae). p. 228-253. In P.J.P. Whitehead, M.-L. Bauchot, J.-C. Hureau, J. Nielsen and E. Tortonese (eds.) Fishes of the North-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 1.
Comments On Leptoderma macrops