Common Name
Threadfin Tripodfish
Year Described
Gilchrist, 1906
Identification
Dorsal Fin: 14-16
Anal Fin: 9-10
Pelvic Fin: 8 (first two thickened and elongate)
Pectoral Fin: two tiny rays; then 2 rays thickened and elongate; then 1-4 tiny rays; then 12-14 joined rays of moderate length
Branchiostegal Rays: 12
Gill Rakers: 12-13 on epibranch, 1 on corner, and 28-30 lower (first arch)
Lateral Line: 57-60
Vertebrae: 52-55
Body fairly elongate with a tiny eye and a large mouth. Teeth small. Pectoral fin in two parts, with several elongate rays extending beyond caudal fin base and a short ventral section. Ventral fins with first rays thickened, elongate (around half of SL), and free of each other for almost their entire length. Anal fin origin under middle rays of dorsal fin. Lowermost caudal fin principle rays are slightly elongate (much less than SL). No sub-caudal notch. Adipose fin present. Body scales small and simple.
Color
Uniformly brownish or greenish. Fins body colored with pale membranes.
Size
Maximum size to 260mm SL.
Habitat
Deep slopes from 1055-2835m over soft bottoms.
Range
Southwestern Atlantic: Rio Grande Rise off SE Brazil.
References
Parin, N.V., Y.N. Shcherbachev & N.P. Pakhorukov. 1995. Bottom and near-bottom fishes of the Rio Grande Rise (Southwest Atlantic Ocean). J. Ichthyol. 35(9):205-219.
Sulak, K. J. 1977. The systematics and biology of Bathypterois (Pisces, Chlorophthalmidae) with a revised classification of benthic myctophiform fishes. Galathea Report v. 14: 49-108, Pls. 1-7.