Rhynchoconger gracilior
Whiptail Conger
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Anguilliformes (True Eels)
Congridae (Conger Eels)
Rhynchoconger
Rhynchoconger gracilior (Whiptail Conger)
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
Moderately elongate body; anus at one-quarter to one-third of length; acutely pointed tail; snout projects beyond lower jaw; longitudinal fleshy keel under tip of snout; upper lip with broad flange, lower lip with narrow flange; anterior nostril tubular, near anteroventral corner of snout; posterior nostril elliptical, anterior to midheight of eye; snout 23% to 28%, eye 17% to 20%, mouth length 34% to 40% of head length; head length 44% to 54%, predorsal length 45% to 53% of preanal length; jaw teeth small, conical, in narrow bands; intermaxillary tooth patch broader than long, exposed when mouth closed, slightly separated from maxillary and vomerine teeth; vomerine tooth patch longer than broad; head pores small, five infraorbital, four supraorbital, one supratemporal; branchiostegal rays 8 to 10; pectoral fin rays 9 to 13; lateral line pores to anus 23 to 27; total vertebrae 175 to 182; predorsal vertebrae 6 or 7; preanal vertebrae 29; precaudal vertebrae 41 to 42
Brown to yellowish; vertical fins edged in black posteriorly; stomach black; intestine pale
Distribution
Western North Atlantic from Georgia, east coast of Florida, and eastern Gulf of Mexico
Rare west of Mobile Bay in the Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Clear offshore waters at 82 to 458 m
Biology
434 mm TL
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2011-08-19. Resilience: Medium (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: of potential interest.
References
Ginsburg 1951 (as Congrina gracilior)
Hoese and Moore 1977 (as Hildebrandia gracilior)
C. R. Robins et al. 1986 (as H. gracilior)
Smith 1989f,k
Boschung 1992
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.
Bogutskaya, N.G. (2007) Preliminary assignment of coordinates to type localities in the Catalog of Fishes. Unpublished dbf file.
Comments On Rhynchoconger gracilior