Scopelarchus guentheri
No common name
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Aulopiformes
Scopelarchidae (Pearleyes)
Scopelarchus
Scopelarchus guentheri
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 and moderately slender; pectoral fins longer than pelvic fins; snout slightly less than to slightly longer than eye diameter; body depth 10.8% to 17.4% and head length 28.3% to 23.3% of SL; premaxilla with 28 to 81 teeth; lower jaw with 14 to 25 teeth in lateral row and 7 to 18 teeth in medial row; palatine with 9 to 14 teeth, and tongue with 8 to 13 teeth; pectoral fin inserts below midflank and has 18 to 21 rays; dorsal fin originates anterior to pelvic fin and has 7 or 8 rays; anal fin has 24 to 29 rays; lateral line scales number 47 to 52; vertebrae number 47 to 51
Dermal pigment forming stripes above and below lateral line; dorsal fin pigmented at base and along anterior fin rays; peritoneum black; larvae with single unpaired anterior peritoneal section, two posterior paired sections, and two dermal pigment stripes above and below lateral line
Distribution
Off southern Florida, in the Gulf of Mexico, and in the Caribbean Sea
Habitat Associations
Tropical to warm temperate seas; captured between the surface and 300 m; larvae most abundant between the surface and 150 m
Biology
Maximum known size is 49.5 mm SL
Oceanic and mesopelagic (Ref. 6601, 58302, 75154). Adults have been captured at depths in excess of 500 m, although they have also been captured in the upper 150 m at night. Larvae have usually been taken in hauls restricted to the upper 100 m. Synchronous hermaphrodites (Ref. 10755). Oviparous, with planktonic larvae (Ref. 35929).
Reproductive mode: true hermaphroditism; fertilization: external; nonguarders. Oviparous (Ref. 35929). Also Ref. 103751.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-05-22.
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from other species of the family by the combination of characters described
References
Johnson 1974b
Johnson 1986a
Johnson, R.K. (1986) Scopelarchidae. p. 265-267. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Johnson, R.K. (1990) Scopelarchidae. p. 393-397. 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.
Watson, W. and E.M. Sandknop (1996) Scopelarchidae: pearleyes. p. 332-343. In H.G. Moser (ed.) The early stages of fishes in the California Current Region. California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) Atlas No. 33. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 1505 p.
Yang, J., Z. Huang, S. Chen and Q. Li (1996) The Deep-Water Pelagic Fishes in the Area form Nansha Islands To the Northeast part of South China Sea. Science Publication Company, Beijing. 190 pp.
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