Common Name
Many-spot Brotula
Year Described
Nielsen, Uiblein & Mincarone, 2009
Identification
Dorsal Fin: 96-101
Anal Fin: 80-90
Pelvic Fin: 2
Pectoral Fin: 23-27
Caudal Fin: 8
Gill Rakers: 13-16 (only long rakers)
Pseudobranchial Filaments: 3-5
Vertebrae: 54-59
Body elongated and eel-like. Snout blunt. Jaw extends past posterior margin of orbit. Teeth present in jaws, on palatine, and on vomer. Antherior basibranchial tooth path narrow and long. Preopercular spines number 0-1. Spine on preopercle weak and thin in small fish but absent in large specimens. 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 brown above, grading to whitish on the belly. There are tiny melanophores sprinkled on the ventral body and the head. Gill region, gut, lips, and area around anus darker brown. Dorsal fin usually with three or more ocelli. The anterior dorsal ocelli is small and covers 1-4 dorsal rays. The three dominant ocelli are at midbody and two on the posterior part of the fin. Additional smaller spots can occur near the rear of the fish. Anal fin usually plain but rarely with a few dark spots.
Size
Maximum size to 148mm SL
Habitat
Found on continental shelves from 102-770m.
Range
Widely distributed in the Caribbean Sea. Found off the southeastern U.S. to the Greater Antilles, and from the Yucatan Peninsula to Venezuela.
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.
Nielsen, J. G., F. Uiblein and M. M. Mincarone 2009. Ocellus-bearing Neobythites species (Teleostei: Ophidiidae) from the West Atlantic with decription of a new species. Zootaxa No. 2228: 57-68.