Ostichthys trachypoma
Bigeye Soldierfish
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Beryciformes
Holocentridae (Squirrelfishes)
Ostichthys
Ostichthys trachypoma (Bigeye Soldierfish)
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
Ovate, moderately deep bodied, and compressed; bones on top of head rugose and spiny; crescentic preopercular margin; caudal peduncle slender and slightly expanded distally; snout blunt with slightly convex dorsal margin; mouth large, maxilla extends beyond posterior margin of orbit; lachrymal and suborbital bones with serrated margins; jaw teeth slightly enlarged and form knobs on either side of symphysis; vomer with small patch of teeth; palatine with narrow bands of teeth; gill rakers of moderate length, 25-35; preoperculum with double serrated margin; operculum with single strong spine; head length 38.7-42.2% SL; snout length 6.5-7.7% SL; eye diameter 13.7-17% SL; interorbital width 6.6-9.2% SL; upper jaw length 23.5-25.8% SL; body depth 45.2-50% SL; pectoral fin length 26.3-29.9% SL; pelvic fin length 23-29.6% SL; pectoral fin with 14-16 rays; dorsal fin with 12 strong spines and 13 or 14 rays; anal fin with 4 spines and 10-12 rays; caudal fin deeply forked; scales large with anterior margins straight, corners angular, and exposed portions rugose and ridged; lateral line scales 29 or 30; vertebrae 26
Reddish with indistinct horizontal bands along side; dorsal fin membrane dark red
Distribution
Western Atlantic from Long Island to Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea
Habitat Associations
Near the bottom between 38 and 503 m
Biology
Maximum known size is 190 mm SL
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2013-01-29. Resilience: High (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from other species of the family by the combination of characters described
References
Randall 1968
Woods and Sonoda 1973
Uyeno et al. 1983
C. R. Robins et al. 1986
Boschung 1992
Thresher, R.E. (1984) Reproduction in reef fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Inc. Ltd., Neptune City, New Jersey. 399 p.
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray (1986) A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p.
Greenfield, D.W., J.E. Randall and P.N. Psomadakis (2017) A review of the soldierfish genus Ostichthys (Beryciformes: Holocentridae), with descriptions of two new species in Myanmar. J. Ocean Sci. Found. 26:1-33. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.344964
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