Myctophum asperum
No common name
NS
GNR
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Myctophiformes (Lanternfishes)
Myctophidae (Lanternfishes)
Myctophum
Myctophum asperum
Description
This species account was compiled from
McEachran & Fechhelm (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 slender and compressed; moderately large mouth; anal fin base longer than dorsal fin base; snout blunt; jaws extend slightly beyond posterior orbital margin; maxilla slightly expanded posteriorly; posterior margin of operculum obtusely angled; gill rakers 14 to 16; dorsal fin originates over pelvic fin base with 12 to 14 rays; pectoral fin extends to VO with 14 or 15 rays; anal fin originates posterior to dorsal fin base with 17 or 18 rays; Dn and Vn small; PVO, VO, PLO, VLO, SAO, Pol, AOa, AOp, and Prc with specific arrangements and counts; males have supracaudal luminous gland with 5 or 6 overlapping scalelike structures; females have infracaudal luminous gland with 1 to 3 heart-shaped patches
Distribution
Cape Cod to northern Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea
Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Tropical waters worldwide; daytime depths 425 to 750 m, nighttime depths at or near the surface
Biology
Maximum known size 85 mm SL
Size at maturity about 70 to 77 mm SL
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from other species of the family by the combination of characters described
References
Nafpaktitis et al. 1977
Hulley 1986b
Gartner et al. 1987
Comments On Myctophum asperum