Stomias affinis
No common name
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Stomiiformes
Stomiidae (Dragonfishes)
Stomias
Stomias affinis
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
Body depth is 5.7% to 9.5% and head length is 9.9% to 11.2% of SL. Premaxilla has one small tooth, followed by one long fang and three or four small teeth. Maxilla has many minute oblique teeth on posterior one-half of ventral margin. Lower jaw has three or four small teeth near symphysis, followed by one large tooth and four or five progressively smaller teeth. Longest mandibular tooth is shorter than longest premaxillary tooth. Vomer has one tooth on each side, and palatine has two teeth. Chin barbel is slender, about as long as head length, and has terminal luminous bulb with three slender filaments. Pectoral fin has 6 or 7, dorsal fin has 16 to 21, pelvic fin has 4 or 5, and anal fin has 18 to 25 rays. IP number 9 to 12, PV number 41 to 46, and VAV number 5 to 9. OV number 40 to 46, VAL number 4 to 9, and AC number 14 to 18. Postorbital luminous organ is small and round. Small photophore is located on each branchiostegal ray, and small photophores are associated with each of six longitudinal rows of hexagonal pigmented areas. Three dorsalmost rows have 1 photophore per hexagon; fourth row has 2 or 3 photophores per hexagon, horizontally arranged; fifth row has 2 photophores per hexagon, vertically arranged; and sixth row has 3 photophores per hexagon, vertically arranged. Vertebrae number 66 to 72.
Color is black to dark brown.
Distribution
In the western Atlantic it occurs from Hudson Canyon, 39°N, to northern South America, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.
Habitat Associations
Tropical to warm temperate seas, worldwide
Biology
Food consists of myctophids and, to a lesser extent, other midwater fishes and shrimps (Sergestes).
Maximum known size is 204 mm SL.
Some individuals may migrate to the surface at night (Ref. 27000). Minimum depth reported taken from Ref. 27000. Feed mainly on myctophids (Ref. 47377).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-05-22. Resilience: Medium (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from the other species of the family by the combination of characters described.
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial.
References
Morrow 1964b
Rass 1971
Gibbs 1969
Gibbs 1984c
Sutton and Hopkins in press
Gibbs, R.H. Jr. (1990) Stomiidae. p. 296-299. 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 UNECO, Paris. Vol. 1.
Uyeno, T., K. Matsuura and E. Fujii (eds.) (1983) Fishes trawled off Suriname and French Guiana. Japan Marine Fishery Resource Research Center, Tokyo, Japan. 519 p.
Weitkamp, D.E. and R.D. Sullivan (2003) Gas bubble disease in resident fish of the lower Clark Fork River. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 132(5):865-876.
Bigelow, H.B., D.M. Cohen, M.M. Dick, R.H. Gibbs Jr., M. Grey, J.E. Morrow Jr., L.P. Schultz and V. Walters (1964) Fishes of the western North Atlantic. Part four. New Haven, Sears Found. Mar. Res., Yale Univ.
Patzner, R.A. (2008) Reproductive strategies of fish. pp. 311-350. In Rocha, M.J., A. Arukwe and B.G. Kapoor (eds). Fish reproduction: cytology, biology and ecology. Science Publisher, Inc. Oxford. 631 p.
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