Scopelarchus michaelsarsi
No common name
NS
GNR
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Aulopiformes
Scopelarchidae (Pearleyes)
Scopelarchus
Scopelarchus michaelsarsi
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 relatively deep bodied; pectoral fins longer than pelvic fins; snout length less than eye diameter; body depth 19% to 24.1% and head length 23.2% to 27.3% of SL; premaxilla with 38 to 75 teeth; lower jaw with 17 or 22 teeth in lateral row and 8 or 9 larger teeth in medial row; palatine with 12 to 16 teeth, and tongue with 7 to 12 teeth; pectoral fin inserts below midflank and has 18 to 21 rays; dorsal fin originates slightly anterior to pelvic fin insertion and has 7 to 9 rays; anal fin rays number 18 to 21; lateral line scales number 40 to 44; vertebrae number 40 to 44
Dermal pigment limited to one stripe above and one below lateral line extending from level of pelvic fin base to caudal peduncle; scale pockets edged with pigment above lateral line; dorsal fin pigmented at base and over anterior fin rays; pectoral fin densely pigmented; larval pigment located in single anterior peritoneal segment, two posterior paired peritoneal segments, and in two dermal pigment stripes above and below lateral line
Distribution
Tropical to warm temperate waters in the western Atlantic
Gulf of Mexico (implied, not explicitly stated)
Habitat Associations
Worldwide in tropical to warm temperate waters, except eastern North Atlantic; depth range less than 200 m to 500 m
Biology
Maximum known size is 101.5 mm SL
Oceanic and mesopelagic (Ref. 6601, 58302). Most adults are taken in hauls to depths exceeding 500 m, none in hauls to depths less than 250 m. Larvae are taken year-round throughout its range, chiefly in hauls to depths less than 200 and apparently not in hauls restricted to the upper 100 m (Ref. 10755). Adults are presumed to prey on other midwater fishes. Synchronous hermaphrodites (Ref. 6691).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2015-07-06.
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from other species of the family by the combination of characters described
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: of no interest.
References
Johnson 1974a
Johnson 1982
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.
Mundy, B.C. (2005) Checklist of the fishes of the Hawaiian Archipelago. Bishop Mus. Bull. Zool. (6):1-704.
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