Common Name
Gill's Cusk-eel
Year Described
Goode & Bean, 1896
Identification
Dorsal Fin: 103-110
Anal Fin: 82-88
Pelvic Fin: 2
Pectoral Fin: 26-29
Caudal Fin: 8
Gill Rakers: 7-9
Pseudobranchial filaments: 2
Branchiostegel rays:
Vertebrae: 15-16 (precaudal), 60-64 (total)
Flat head and robust body. Snout much longer than eye. Two median basibranchial tooth patches. Pectoral fin short and rounded. Lateral line well developed. Strong opercular spine present.
Color
Body brown with scales darker. Head and gill area blackish-blue. Dorsal, anal, and pectoral fins dark.
Size
One of the largest cusk-eels: to 830mm SL
Habitat
Captured over soft bottoms from 637-2331m.
Range
Off New England to the NE Gulf of Mexico. Also off southern Brazil.
References
Mincarone, M. M., J.G. Nielsen & P.A. Costa. 2008. Deep-sea ophidiiform fishes collected on the Brazilian continental slope, between 11 and 23 S. Zootaxa: 1770(1), 41-64.
Nielsen, J. G., & P. R. Møller. 2011. Revision of the bathyal cusk‐eels of the genus Bassogigas (Ophidiidae) with description of a new species from off Guam, west Pacific Ocean. Journal of Fish Biology, 78(3), 783-795.