Common Name
Crested Ridgehead
Year Described
Günther, 1878
Identification
Dorsal Fin: III, 12-13
Anal Fin: I, 9-10
Pectoral Fin: 13-14
Pelvic Fin: I, 7
Caudal Fin: 9-10 branched, 3 procurrent rays
Lateral Scale Rows: 29-31
Gill Rakers: 28-30
Vertebrae: 27-29
Head with heavy bony ridging and pitting. A conspicuous anterior spine in front of eye and bony crest present on top of head (characteristic of Poromitra). Rear margin of mouth extends beyond orbit. Eye moderate in size. Preopercle with spination continuous along entire posterior and ventral edge. Anterior preopercular margin with ridges at an acute angle. Opercle with serrated upper margin. Anal fin origin under dorsal ray 6 or 7. Pectoral fin extends to rear dorsal fin base. Pelvic fin origin posterior to pectoral fin base. Three scales on cheek. Pyloric caeca number 6.
Color
Uniformly dark brown to black
Size
Maximum size to 156mm SL
Habitat
Adults mesopelagic from 750-2730m, with juveniles being caught in shallower water to the surface at night.
Range
Captured from Greenland to the eastern U.S., to the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico.
References
Kotlyar, A. N. 2008. Revision of the genus Poromitra (Melamphaidae): Part 1. Species of group P. crassiceps. Journal of Ichthyology v. 48 (no. 7): 479-492.
McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. 1998. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. Volume 1: Myxiniformes to Gasterosteiformes. University of Texas Press, Austin. i-viii + 1-1112.
Moore, J. A., K. E. Hartel, J. E. Craddock, and J. K. Galbraith. 2003. An annotated list of deepwater fishes from off the New England region, with new area records. Northeastern Naturalist 10(2): 159-248.
Other Notes
The three other members of the Poromotra crassiceps complex are largely allopatric in the Indian Ocean, western Pacific, and the eastern Pacific (Kotlyar, 2008).