Polyacanthonotus merretti
No common name
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Albuliformes (Bonefishes)
Notocanthidae (Spiny Eels)
Polyacanthonotus
Polyacanthonotus merretti
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
Elongate, moderately slender, and compressed, with a spatulate snout projecting beyond mouth and widely separated anterior and posterior nares. Posterior border of mouth extends to or beyond anterior margin of eye. Head length is 31% to 41%, predorsal length is 42% to 51%, and preanal length is 104% to 113% of gnathoproctal length. Snout length is 28% to 37%, and eye diameter is 12% to 18% of head length. Internarial distance is 67% to 103% of eye diameter. Premaxillary, palatine, and dentine teeth are clawlike. Palatine tooth patches meet along midline. Maxillary spine projects posteriorly from slightly expanded bent part of maxillary. Branchiostegal rays number 7 or 8. Gill rakers on first arch number 4 or 5 on epibranch and 8 to 14 on lower limb. Pectoral fin is anterior to first dorsal spine and has 8 to 12 rays. Dorsal fin consists of 28 to 36 separate spines. Pelvic fins are nearly separated from each other and bases are posterior to first dorsal spine; each pelvic fin has one or two fulcral spines and 6 to 8 rays. Lateral line pores from gill cleft to anus number from 48 to 56. Total vertebrae number 224 to 245, vertebrae to dorsal fin origin number 11 to 16, vertebrae under dorsal fin base number 82 to 91, vertebrae to anal fin origin number 49 to 57, and vertebrae between pectoral fin insertion and dorsal fin origin number 1 to 7.
Pale bluish gray except for margin of operculum, branchiostegal fold, and inside of mouth, which are black, and posterior section of anal fin, which is dark smoky gray. Mature males have slightly larger nares and eyes than females and immature males, and nares of mature males are dark pigmented but colorless in females and immature males.
Distribution
New Jersey to the Guianas, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean Sea
Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Deep waters of the tropical and warm temperate Atlantic from 594 to 2,000 m
Biology
Hydroids, coelenterates, polychaetes, amphipods, and mysids
Maximum known size is 119 mm gnathoproctal length or 300 mm TL
Females mature between 84 and 119 mm gnathoproctal length and have between 1,932 and 5,709 eggs
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2011-03-09. Resilience: Medium (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
References
McDowell 1973 (as P. africanus)
Sulak et al. 1984
Crabtree et al. 1985
Hureau, J.-C. (1991) La base de données GICIM: Gestion informatisée des collections ichthyologiques du Muséum. p. 225-227. In Atlas Préliminaire des Poissons d'Eau Douce de France. Conseil Supérieur de la Pêche, Ministère de l'Environnement, CEMAGREF et Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris.
Eschmeyer, W.N. (ed.) (1998) Catalog of fishes. Special Publication, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco. 3 vols. 2905 p.
McAllister, D.E. (1990) A working list of fishes of the world. Copies available from D.E. McAllister, Canadian Museum of Nature, P.O. Box 3443, Ottawa, Ontario K1P 6P4, Canada. 2661 p. plus 1270 p. Index.
Bogutskaya, N.G. (2007) Preliminary assignment of coordinates to type localities in the Catalog of Fishes. Unpublished dbf file.
Comments On Polyacanthonotus merretti