Common Name
Longfin Smoothhead
Year Described
Vaillant, 1888
Identification
Dorsal Fin: 18-21
Anal Fin: 37-39
Pectoral Fin: 8-10
Pelvic Fin: 6-7
Gill Rakers: 2 (total on upper limb of first arch)
Pyloric Caeca: 5-8
Body elongate and slender, with a large head. Eyes smaller than snout length. Teeth present on premaxilla, dentary, and palatine, but not on maxilla or vomer. Rear margin of jaw extends to anterior margin of orbit. A single supramaxilla above maxilla. Dorsal fin origin far behind anal fin origin (anal fin almost twice as large). Pectoral and pelvic fins fairly small. Scales absent on head. Body scales very small. A fleshy fold on dorsum and on the dorsal/ventral caudal peduncle.
Color
Uniformly dark brown to black.
Size
Maximum size to 34cm SL.
Habitat
Benthopelagic from 800-2,200m.
Range
The Bahamas, the Gulf of Mexico, the SW Caribbean, off NE South America, and off Brazil. The most common W. Atlantic species in the genus.
References
Crabtree, R.E. & K.J Sulak. 1986. A contribution to the life history and distribution of Atlantic species of the deep-sea fish genus Conocara (Alepocephalidae). Deep Sea Research 33 (9): 1183-1201.
McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. 1998. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. Volume 1: Myxiniformes to Gasterosteiformes. University of Texas Press, Austin. i-viii + 1-1112.
Whitehead, P.J.P. , M.-L. Bauchot, J.-C. Hureau, J.G. Nielsen and E. Tortonese. 1986. Fishes of the North-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Vol. I-III. UNESCO. Fishes of the North-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. http://species-identification.org.
Other Notes
Conocara macdonaldi is a junior synonym.