Common Name
Murray's Grideye Fish
Year Described
Günther, 1878
Identification
Dorsal Fin: 9-10
Anal Fin: 13-15
Pelvic Fin: 8 (none modified)
Pectoral Fin: 13-15 (none modified)
Branchiostegal Rays: 10-11
Gill Rakers: 3 on epibranch, 1 on corner, then 17 on lower limb (first arch)
Lateral Line: 53
Vertebrae: 55-61
Body slender and elongate with a large mouth. Eye is a flat plate-like grid of light sensitive tissue on the top of the head. Teeth tiny and villiform. Pectoral fin simple (without modified rays) and not reaching past dorsal fin origin. Ventral fins without modified or elongate rays. Anal fin origin well behind last dorsal ray. Lowermost caudal fin rays not modified or elongate. Caudal fin with uneven lobes. There is no sub-caudal notch. Adipose fin absent. Scales on body and head.
Color
Body black with pale edges to scale pockets. Head black. Eye patch pale.
Size
Maximum size to 152mm SL.
Habitat
Continental slope from 1,463-3,518m. Benthic.
Range
Scattered records from off the Bahamas, the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea and SE Brazil.
References
Franco, M.A., A.C. Braga, G.W. Nunan, & P.A. Costa. 2009. Fishes of the family Ipnopidae (Teleostei: Aulopiformes) collected on the Brazilian continental slope between 11 degrees and 23 degrees S. J. Fish Biol. 75(4): 797-815.
McEachran, J.D. & J.D. Fechhelm. 1998. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. Volume 1: Myxiniformes to Gasterosteiformes. University of Texas Press, Austin. i-viii + 1-1112.