Bathyclupea argentea

Common Name

Deepsea Herring

Year Described

Goode & Bean, 1896

Identification

Dorsal Fin: I, 9
Anal Fin: I, 28-31
Pectoral Fin: I, 27-30
Pelvic Fin:
Gill Rakers: 16-19
Lateral Line Scales: 33 (pored)
Vertebrae:

Body elongate and laterally compressed. Dorsal profile flattened while ventral profile is strongly curved. Mouth strongly upturned. Eye quite large. Tiny teeth on vomer, premaxillary, and lower jaw. Dorsal fin origin far back on body (well posterior to anal origin). Anal fin long (not as long as B. schroederi); originating anterior to the midpoint of body. Pelvic fin origin well forward of pectoral base. Pectoral fin large, with top rays longest. Body scales cycloid and easily rubbed off (lateral line scales less fragile). Head naked with obvious mucus cavities.

Color

Bright silvery when fresh.

Size

Maximum size to 211mm SL.

Habitat

Captured between 366-640m.

Range

From off New England to Venezuela, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.

References

Dick, M. M. 1962. Bathyclupea schoederi, a new bathyclupeid fish from the western tropical Atlantic. Breviora No. 167: 1-4.

McEachran, J.D. & J.D. Fechhelm. 2005. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. Volume 2: Scorpaeniformes to Tetraodontiformes. University of Texas Press, Austin. i-viii +1-1004.

Moore, J.A. , K.E. Hartel, J.E. Craddock & 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.