Common Name
Thinbarbel Leftvent
Year Described
Regan & Trewavas, 1932
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 moderate, with pterygiophore almost completely buried in skin of head. Esca with small terminal bulb, a short distal filament, and up to 10 lateral filaments on side of bulb. Posterior escal appendage sometimes present as short filament. Anterior appendage absent. Hyoid barbel well developed and moderate (25-33% SL). Barbel without any branching and with many luminous nodules or short filaments at tip. 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 25-81mm SL. Males unknown.
Habitat
Deep midwater collected over a wide range of depths (200-4000m).
Range
Only record for the region is one specimen taken off French Guiana. Known from a handful of other specimens in the eastern Atlantic and eastern Pacific.
References
Pietsch, T.W. 2009. Oceanic Anglerfishes: Extraordinary Diversity in the Deepsea. University of California Press. 557pp.