Common Name
Bearded Leftvent
Year Described
Regan, 1925
Identification
Dorsal Fin: 3 (rarely 4)
Anal Fin: 3 (rarely 2 or 4)
Pectoral Fin: 15-17
Caudal Fin: 2 simple + 4 branched + 3 simple (last short)
Branchiostegal Rays: 5 (rarely 4)
Females: Body nearly globular with a huge head. Mouth huge and oblique (more than a third of body length), with several rows of well spaced teeth varying from long to short. Vomer with long teeth. Head with strong sphenotic spine. Spines on quadrate and articular absent. Two strong spines on rear edge of preopercle. Illicium short but present, with pterygiophore almost completely buried in skin of head. Esca with large bulb and a long distal appendage (10-57% SL). There are several paired branches on the distal appendage with the basal pair being largest and broken into additional branches terminally. Filaments present on side branches giving esca a furry appearance. Posterior escal appendage short and stubby. No additional appendages. Hyoid barbel well developed and long (50-80% SL). Barbel with a short anterior pair branched at base, and two other unpaired branches that are much longer. Two posterior branches with many secondary branches and numerous filaments along length of terminal branches. Pectoral fin small and inserted high on body beyond midpoint. Dorsal and anal fins far back near caudal fin base. Caudal fin has simple and branched rays. Skin completely smooth (lacks spinules, bristles, or bucklers). Vent on left side of body (unique to family).
Males: tiny and parasitic. Body elongated. Olfactory organs well developed. Barbels absent in adults. Jaw teeth present in free living males.
Color
Body dark brown to blackish. Esca, hyoid barbel, head spines, and caudal fin whitish. Esca and hyoid barbel bioluminescent.
Size
Females range from 21-77mm SL. Males range from 14-15mm SL.
Habitat
Deep midwater habitats from 200-1000m.
Range
Maine to Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, and off Brazil. Also in the central and eastern Atlantic.
References
Mincarone, M.M., Afonso, G.V.F., Di Dario, F., Eduardo, L.N., Frédou, T., Lucena-Frédou, F., & T.W. Pietsch. 2021. Deep-sea anglerfishes (Lophiiformes: Ceratioidei) from off northeastern Brazil, with remarks on the ceratioids reported from the Brazilian Exclusive Economic Zone. Neotropical Ichthyology, 19: 1-28.
Pietsch, T.W. 2009. Oceanic Anglerfishes: Extraordinary Diversity in the Deepsea. University of California Press. 557pp.