Nemichthys curvirostris
No common name
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Anguilliformes (True Eels)
Nemichthyidae (Snipe Eels)
Nemichthys
Nemichthys curvirostris
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 and slightly compressed, with anus under pectoral fin base and tail extended as a filament. Upper and lower jaws are about equal in length, and tips of jaws are not expanded into spatulate knobs. Eye length is 33% to 75% of distance from postorbital margin to upper end of pectoral fin base. Dermal ridges are lacking on head. Head pores are small, with 13 to 29 infraorbital, 5 to 14 supraorbital, 1 to 4 supratemporal, 5 to 14 postorbital, and 2 to 6 preopercular. Branchiostegal rays number 7 to 12, and pectoral fin rays number 8 to 12. Dorsal fin originates anterior to pectoral fin base. Lateral line pores are in three rows, with dorsal and ventral rows twice as numerous as median row. Predorsal vertebrae number 3 to 5, preanal vertebrae number 10 to 14, and caudal vertebrae number 84 to 101.
Pale yellow to white, with cluster of large black spots on abdomen in juveniles. Mature females are grayish, and mature males are light brown. Mature males have short, occlusible jaws.
Distribution
East coast of the United States to the Antilles and the northern Gulf of Mexico
Northern Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Open midwater, 100 to 2,000 m
Biology
1,430 mm TL
Diurnal migrations (Ref. 51024). Feeds on crustaceans. Oviparous, strong sexual dimorphism (Ref. 3247).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2011-03-05. Resilience: Low (Assuming tmax>10).
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from other species of the family by the combination of characters described
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: of no interest.
References
Nielsen and Smith 1978
Smith and Nielsen 1989
Smith 1989n
Castle, P.H.J. (1986) Nemichthyidae. p. 193-194. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Smith, D.G. (1990) Nemichthyidae. p. 199-202. 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.
Reiner, F. (1996) Catálogo dos peixes do arquipélago de Cabo Verde. Publ. Avuls. Inst. Port. Invest. Mar. 2:339 p.
Hureau, J.-C. and T. Monod (eds.) (1979) Supplement. Check-list of the fishes of the north-eastern Atlantic and of the Mediterranean. p.339-394. In J.-C. Hureau and Th. Monod (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the north-eastern Atlantic and of the Mediterranean.United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Paris, France. Vols 1-2. 683 p.
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