Vinciguerria poweriae
No common name
NS
G5
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Stomiiformes
Phosichthyidae (Lightfishes)
Vinciguerria
Vinciguerria poweriae
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, with a large mouth, large nontubular eyes, and two rows of photophores. Premaxillary teeth are uniserial, widely spaced, and of unequal length. Teeth in posterior section of maxilla are slightly larger than those of premaxilla and of unequal size. Vomer has very small teeth on each side, and palatine has four small teeth. Gill filaments are relatively long and are not fused at base. Gill rakers on first arch number 3 or 4 on epibranch and 11 to 14 on lower limb. Branchiostegal rays number 11. Dorsal adipose fin has short base. Anus is closer to anal fin base than to pelvic fin insertion. Dorsal fin is slightly anterior to anal fin, and dorsal fin base is slightly longer than anal fin base. Dorsal fin rays number 13 to 15, and anal fin rays number 12 to 14. Photophores are absent at symphysis of lower jaw. So is located anterior to eye, and Po is located posteroventral to eye. OP number 3, and BR number 8. IV number 22 to 24, and VAV number 8 to 10. OA number 22 to 24, and AC number 12 to 14.
Color is dark dorsally and silvery on flank, with pigment streak above premaxilla and, in specimens 20 mm SL and larger, with one at lower jaw symphysis.
Distribution
Off the eastern seaboard of the United States from about 43°N to the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.
Habitat Associations
Tropical to warm temperate seas, between 300 and 600 m by day and from 50 to 350 m at night. Premetamorphic larvae occur in the upper 100 m, and postmetamorphic larvae are found between 350 and 600 m.
Biology
Food consists of copepods.
Maximum known size is 43 mm SL.
Spawning mainly takes place in spring and summer.
Epi- (Ref. 58302) and mesopelagic, mostly found at 300-600 m during the day and at 50-350 m at night (Ref. 3988, 58302); both juveniles and adults make diel vertical migrations (Ref. 4778). Feed on small crustaceans (Ref. 4778). Adult photophore complement attained at about 19 mm SL (Ref. 4778). Oviparous, with planktonic eggs and larvae (Ref. 35839). Spawning takes place throughout the year in Mediterranean (Ref. 37473).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2014-07-15. Resilience: High (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from the other species of the family by the combination of characters described.
References
Grey 1964
Rass 1971
Bekker et al. 1975
Murdy et al. 1983
Badcock 1984c
Schaefer et al. 1986a
Boschung 1992
Schaefer, S., R.K. Johnson and J. Badcock (1986) Photichthyidae. p. 243-247. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Quéro, J.-C., J.C. Njock and M.M. de la Hoz (1990) Photichthyidae. p. 343-348. 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.
Badcock, J. (1984) Photichthyidae. p. 318-324. In P.J.P. Whitehead, M.-L. Bauchot, J.-C. Hureau, J. Nielsen and E. Tortonese (eds.) Fishes of the north-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. volume 1. UNESCO, Paris.
Watson, W. (1996) Phosichthyidae: lightfishes. p. 284-293. 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.
Fadeev, N.S. (2005) Guide to biology and fisheries of fishes of the North Pacific Ocean. Vladivostok, TINRO-Center. 366 p.
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.
Goren, M. and B.S. Galil (2015) A checklist of the deep sea fishes of the Levant Sea, Mediterranean Sea. Zootaxa 3994(4):507-530. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3994.4.2
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