Common Name
Salmon Smoothhead
Year Described
Gill & Townsend, 1897
Identification
Dorsal Fin: 17-19
Anal Fin: 25-27
Pectoral Fin: 10-12
Pelvic Fin:
Gill Rakers: <3 (total on upper limb of first arch), 12-13 in lower limb
Pyloric Caeca: 2
Vertebrae: 51-53
Branchiostegal Rays: 5
Body moderately elongate and slender, with a large head. Eyes smaller than snout length. Premaxilla forms a plate-like visor. Teeth present on premaxilla, dentary, and palatine, but not on maxilla or vomer. Rear margin of jaw extends to middle of orbit. A single supramaxilla above maxilla. Dorsal fin origin far behind anal fin origin (anal fin slightly larger). 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.
Size
Maximum size to over 73cm SL.
Habitat
Benthopelagic from 2,400-4,200m.
Range
Known from a few records around the Lesser Antilles and one from the N. Gulf of Mexico. Probably widespread in the deep tropical Atlantic.
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.
Sazonov, Yu. I. 1997. A new species of the genus Conocara (Alepocephalidae) from the Indo-Pacific. Journal of Ichthyology v. 37 (no. 9): 749-753].
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.