Common Name
Pinstriped Brotula
Year Described
Goode & Bean, 1886
Identification
Dorsal Fin: 103-113
Anal Fin: 89-97
Pelvic Fin: 2
Pectoral Fin: 24-28
Caudal Fin: 8
Gill Rakers: 11-14 (only long rakers)
Pseudobranchial Filaments: 2-4
Vertebrae: 61-66
Body elongated and eel-like. Snout blunt. Jaw extends past posterior margin of orbit. Teeth present in jaws, on palatine, and on vomer. Anterior basibranchial tooth path narrows on posterior end. Preopercular spines number 2. Spines on preopercle strong. Opercular spine strong. Dorsal and anal fins confluent with caudal fin. Pelvic fin reaches 2/3 of the way to the anus. Lateral line not obvious. Body scales cycloid.
Color
Body ranges from pale to dark brown. Body with 3-4 black stripes. The midbody stripe is the strongest and the two upper stripes coalescing to form one on the rear body. Top of head with reticulated pattern of black lines. Small melanophores on ventrum. Eyes, lips, gill region, and anus dark. Dorsal fin with 1-2 black stripes. Anal fin with one black stripe. Base of pectoral fin blackish.
Size
Maximum size to 216mm SL
Habitat
Occurs on the continental shelf and slope from 73-933m SL.
Range
Off S. Virginia to Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to E. Texas. Widespread in the Caribbean Sea to Venezuela in both insular and continental waters.
References
Nielsen, J. G. 1999. A review of the genus Neobythites (Pisces, Ophidiidae) in the Atlantic, with three new species. Bulletin of Marine Science v. 64 (no. 2): 335-372.