Melanostomias melanops
No common name
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
There are no photos available for this taxon yet.
Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Stomiiformes
Stomiidae (Dragonfishes)
Melanostomias
Melanostomias melanops
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
Elongate and moderately slender body; short, blunt, nonprotrusible snout; long chin barbel tapering to a filament distally; abdominal pelvic fins; body depth 11.8-14.2% SL; head length 14.1-14.5% SL; lower jaw equal to upper jaw in length, not upturned at tip; premaxilla with 8 long, barbed teeth; lower jaw with 8 or 9 long, barbed teeth; chin barbel 25-45% SL with slender stem and flattened, narrow distal tip bearing terminal filamentous extension; pectoral fin poorly developed with 5 rays; dorsal fin with 11-16 rays; anal fin with 17 or 18 rays; pelvic fin with 7 or 8 rays; IP number 11; PV number 26-29; VAV number 13 or 14; OV number 27 or 28; VAL number 11 or 12; AC number 9 or 10; preorbital and suborbital luminous organs absent; Po triangular shaped, about equal to eye diameter
Black; stem of barbel unpigmented except for base; tip of barbel unpigmented or with irregular dark patches
Distribution
Eastern seaboard of the United States from about 40°N to 28°N
Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Tropical to subtropical seas; worldwide distribution
Biology
Myctophids
260 mm SL
Mesopelagic (Ref. 58302).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2014-07-01. Resilience: Medium (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from other species of the family by the combination of characters described
References
Morrow and Gibbs 1964
Gibbs 1984d
Sutton and Hopkins 1996, in press
Gibbs, R.H. and M.A. Barnett (1990) Melanostomiidae. p. 308-337. 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.
Uyeno, T., K. Matsuura and E. Fujii (eds.) (1983) Fishes trawled off Suriname and French Guiana. Japan Marine Fishery Resource Research Center, Tokyo, Japan. 519 p.
McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm (1998) Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. Volume 1: Myxiniformes to Gasterosteiformes. University of Texas Press, Austin. 1112p.
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 Melanostomias melanops