Common Name
Madeira Smoothhead
Year Described
Maul, 1948
Identification
Dorsal Fin: 20-22
Anal Fin: 20-22
Pectoral Fin: 5-7
Pelvic Fin: 5-6
Gill Rakers: 24-25 (total in first arch)
Pyloric Caeca:
Vertebrae: 20-22 precaudal, 26-28 caudal
Branchiostegal Rays: 6
Lateral Line Scales: 50-56
Body moderately elongate and slender, with a very large head. Body thickest anteriorly, tapering posteriorly. Eye diameter similar to snout length. Snout blunt. Premaxilla, maxilla, and dentary with teeth; palatine and vomer without teeth. Rear margin of jaw extends beyond posterior margin of orbit. Two supramaxilla above maxilla. Dorsal fin origin directly over anal fin origin (fins the same size). Pectoral and pelvic fins small. Body naked except for ring-like lateral line scales. Papillae are present along fin bases, and along fin rays, but not along lateral line. Photophores present.
Color
Uniformly black.
Size
Maximum size to 32cm SL.
Habitat
Benthopelagic from 600-1,200m.
Range
Scattered records from off the NE U.S. to the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea to Panama. Also off eastern Brazil.
References
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.