Neoscopelus macrolepidotus
No common name
NS
GNR
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Myctophiformes (Lanternfishes)
Neoscopelidae
Neoscopelus
Neoscopelus macrolepidotus
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
Body fusiform, compressed; head conical; large eyes; dorsal profile of head straight to slightly concave; mouth oblique; upper jaw extends to posterior margin of orbit; lower jaw projects slightly beyond upper jaw; inner series of enlarged, conical, depressible teeth and outer band of close-set, villiform teeth on upper and lower jaws; vomer, palatine, and ectopterygoids with bands of small teeth; gill rakers on first arch: 2 on epibranch, 1 in corner, 7-8 on lower limb; dorsal fin originates anterior to pelvic fin base, with 12-13 rays; pectoral fin extends to near anal fin origin, with 18-19 rays; anal fin with 11-13 rays; adipose fin base over or slightly behind middle of anal fin base; photophores in midventral series and bilateral series; vertebrae number 30 or 31
Light brown, with operculum, back, and ventral photophore regions dark brown; head and ventral half of body silvery iridescent; in life, dark red with silvery white belly
Distribution
Straits of Florida and northern Gulf of Mexico
northern Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Tropical to subtropical waters, near bottom at 300-800 m
Biology
Maximum known size 250 mm SL; size at maturity about 150 mm SL
Found over continental and island slopes. No evidence of vertical migrations (Ref. 6690). Benthopelagic (Ref. 58302).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-07-11. Resilience: Medium (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from other species of the family by combination of characters
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: of no interest.
References
Nafpaktitis 1977
Uyeno et al. 1983
Hulley 1984a
Hulley 1986c
Burgess and Branstetter 1985
Hulley, P.A. (1990) Neoscopelidae. p. 468-469. 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.
Hulley, P.A. (1986) Neoscopelidae. p. 321-322. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Hulley, P.A. (1984) Neoscopelidae. p. 426-428. 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.
Shcherbachev, Y.N. (1987) Preliminary list of thalassobathyal fishes of the tropical and subtropical waters of the Indian Ocean. J. Ichthyol. 27(2):37-46.
Comments On Neoscopelus macrolepidotus