Common Name
Norman's Smoothhead
Year Described
Parr, 1951
Identification
Dorsal Fin: 16-22
Anal Fin: 16-20
Pectoral Fin: absent or rudimentary
Pelvic Fin: 5-6
Gill Rakers: 28-30 (total in first arch)
Vertebrae: 45-48
Body elongate and slender, with a large head. Eye diameter much shorter than snout length (2.5 times in snout). Snout pointed with lower jaw projecting. Premaxilla, maxilla, dentaries, palatine, and vomer toothless. Jaws with cartilaginous tips. Rear margin of jaw extends to middle of orbit. Two supramaxilla above maxilla. Dorsal fin origin anterior to anal fin origin (anal fin similar in size). Pectoral and pelvic fins fairly large. Scales absent. A small light organ near jaw tip.
Color
Bluish-black anterior of pelvic fin, grading into yellowish posteriorly.
Size
Maximum size to 20cm SL.
Habitat
Bathypelagic from 2,000-3,000m.
Range
Off the northeastern U.S. Also the southwestern Atlantic from Brazil to Argentina. Probably more widespread in the western Atlantic.
References
Moore, J.A. , K.E. Hartel, J.E. Craddock and J.K. Galbraith. 2003. An annotated list of deepwater fishes from off the New England region, with new area records. Northeastern Naturalist v. 10 (no. 2): 159-248.
Sazonov, Yu.I. & P. R. Last. 2000. Redescription of the rare slickhead Mirognathus normani (Salmoniformes: Alepocephalidae) with the first record fromm the western South Pacific. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research v. 34 (no. 2): 385-389.
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.