Pseudoscopelus obtusifrons
No common name
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
There are no photos available for this taxon yet.
Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Chiasmodontidae (Snaketooth Fishes)
Pseudoscopelus
Pseudoscopelus obtusifrons
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.
It may contain errors in spelling, punctuation, or formatting.
When citing, please reference the original source rather than this page.
Learn more about our species accounts.
Characters
Short, rounded snout; greatly broadened premaxilla; mandibular photophores arranged in three groups; premaxilla with three uniserial rows of needlelike teeth; lower jaw with two rows of teeth, inner row larger; teeth in both jaws have lanceolate crowns; palatine teeth small, needlelike, in a single series; preoperculum with stout, ventrally directed spine at corner; first three gill arches bear gill teeth; branchiostegal rays number 6; measurements (% SL): head length about 27%, snout length about 6%, eye diameter about 5%, upper jaw length about 20%, interorbital width about 10%, body depth about 18%; pectoral fin has 14 rays; first dorsal fin has eight spines, second dorsal fin has one spine and 21 to 25 rays; anal fin has one spine and 19 to 23 rays; caudal fin is deeply forked; lateral line consists of 69 to 76 pores; vertebrae number 37 or 38
Color is black
Distribution
Western Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico off Texas and Florida
Gulf of Mexico off Texas
Habitat Associations
Tropical seas between 914 and 1,097 m
Biology
Maximum known size is about 115 mm SL
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2018-10-12.
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: of no interest.
References
Fowler 1934
McEachran and Sutton 2002
Mooi, R.D. and J.R. Paxton (2001) Chiasmodontidae. Swallowers. p. 3495-3496. In K.E. Carpenter and V. Niem (eds.) FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific. Vol. 6. Bony fishes part 4 (Labridae to Latimeriidae), estuarine crocodiles. FAO, Rome.
Prokofiev, A.M. and E.I. Kukuev (2005) Preliminary review of the Atlantic linebellies of the genus Pseudoscopelus with remarks on the species composition of the genus in the world's fauna (Perciformes: Chiasmodontidae). J. Ichthyol. 45(9):712-729.
Melo, M.R.S. (2010) A revision of the genus Pseudoscopelus Lütken (Chiasmodontidae: Acanthomorphata) with descriptions of three new species. Zootaxa 2710:1-78.
Comments On Pseudoscopelus obtusifrons