Zalieutes mcgintyi
Tricorn Batfish
Collection Details
Specimens
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Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Lophiiformes (Anglerfish)
Ogcocephalidae (Batfishes)
Zalieutes
Zalieutes mcgintyi (Tricorn Batfish)
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
Depressed and triangular shaped anteriorly, with a short rostrum bearing prominent lateral horns. Rostrum is short and shelflike, projecting downward and bearing lateral projection that extends lateral to eye. Cranium rises moderately steeply from disc. Head depth is 40.1% to 46.1% of length of disc margin. Width of cranium is 46.8% to 50.8% of length of disc margin. Iris lacks pupillary operculum on ventral margin. Interorbital space is slightly convex, 16% to 21.7% of cranial width, and 19.5% to 23.4% of head depth. Mouth width is 54.8% to 63.6% of head depth and 23.7% to 25.4% of length of disc margin. Jaw length is 39.5% to 45.8% of head depth. Teeth are conical, retrorse, villiform, and occur in bands in jaws, tongue, vomer, and palatine. Gill filaments are present on second and third gill arches and on anterior part of fourth gill arch. Gill rakers are thin plates covered with minute teeth. Pectoral fin is a well-developed, armlike pedicle, is well separated from body, and has 10 to 12 rays. Ventral surface of pectoral fin lacks fleshy pads. Illicial cavity is small and triangular shaped. Esca consists of flared ventral section and leaf-like dorsal section. Second dorsal fin has 4 or 5 rays. Pelvic fin is narrow based, slightly flared distally, and lacks fleshy pads. Anal fin has 4 rays. Body is covered with close-set tubercles and bucklers. Ventral surface of disc is covered with tubercles, and ventral surface of tail is covered with tubercles and two rows of bucklers. Lateral line scales are continuous and extend to caudal fin.
Color is uniform pale brown to olive brown. Pectoral and caudal fins are pale and lack spots or bands. Base of dorsal fin is occasionally dusky.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from Florida to northern South America, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea
Habitat Associations
Between 90 and 180 m
Biology
Maximum known size is 100 mm TL
Inhabits offshore water, mostly from 90-180 m depth.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2009-02-04. 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
References
Fowler 1952b
Uyeno et al. 1983
C. R. Robins et al. 1986
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.
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.
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