Melamphaes pumilus
No common name
NS
GNR
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Melamphaidae (Ridgeheads)
Melamphaes
Melamphaes pumilus
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
Oblong and subcylindrical body shape; relatively smooth head; relatively long dorsal fin; thin and not expanded margins of head ridges; indistinct internarial spine; teeth in jaws arranged in bands (5-7 rows upper jaw, 3-5 rows lower jaw); 3 or 4 gill rakers on epibranch and 12 to 14 on lower limb; 8 branchiostegal rays; well-developed supramaxilla; head length 35-39% SL; upper jaw length 16-18% SL; predorsal length 41-46% SL; caudal peduncle length 23-27% SL; caudal peduncle depth 9-10% SL; 14-16 pectoral fin rays; dorsal fin with 3 spines and 14-16 rays; pelvic fin with 1 spine and 7 or 8 rays, located slightly behind pectoral fin insertion; anal fin with 1 spine and 7 or 8 rays; 30-33 scales from nape to caudal fin base; 8 scales in diagonal series from anterior to dorsal fin origin to anterior to anal fin origin; 2 cheek scales; small head pores; 27 or 28 vertebrae
Dark brown to blackish
Distribution
Western and central Atlantic Ocean between 40°N and 10°N, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea
Habitat Associations
Generally found between 300 and 400 m, rare above 100 m; postlarvae and small juveniles between 50 and 100 m
Biology
Maximum known size is 25 mm SL
IUCN Red List Status: Data Deficient (DD), assessed 2014-07-15. Resilience: High (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from other species of the family by the combination of characters
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: of no interest.
References
Ebeling 1962
Rass 1971
Ebeling and Weed 1973
Murdy et al. 1983
Maul, G.E. (1990) Melamphaidae. p. 612-618. 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. 2.
Cohen, D.M., A.W. Ebeling, T. Iwamoto, S.B. McDowell, N.B. Marshall, D.E. Rosen, P. Sonoda, W.H. Weed III and L.P. Woods (1973) Fishes of the western North Atlantic. Part six. New Haven, Sears Found. Mar. Res., Yale Univ.
Kotlyar, A.N. (2004) Family Melamphaidae Gill 1893, bigscales. Calif. Acad. Sci. Annotated Checklists of Fishes (29):11.
Kotlyar, A.N. (2016) Revision of the genus Melamphaes (Melamphaidae): 7. Oligo-Raker species: M. danae and M. pumilis. J. Ichthyol. 56(4):477-487. DOI: 10.1134/S0032945216040056
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