Common Name
Dark Cusk
Year Described
Parr, 1933
Identification
Dorsal Fin: 113-115
Anal Fin: 91-94
Pectoral Fin: 20-25
Caudal Fin: 5
Pelvic Fin: 0
Gill Rakers: 4+1+10 on first arch (15 tubercles)
Vertebrae: 89-90 (total)
Body compressed and very elongate. Head large but body more elongated and tapering (head 9.2-9.9 times in SL). Snout about as long as eye. Mouth large, extending well past orbit. Maxilla expanded rearward. Teeth present in vomer, palatine, dentary, and premaxilla. Head sensory pores and canals well developed. Opercle with no spine. No median basibranchial tooth patch. Gill rakers with spiny tubercles. Pectoral fin very small. Pelvic fin absent. Body and head fully scaled except for branchial area, snout, upper jaw, and fins. Scales are randomly distributed star-shaped prickles. Otoliths very small and round.
Larvae elongated with dramatic sail-like dorsal and anal fins. Related to Lamprogrammus larvae but without extended gut.
Color
Body varies from blackish to pale with a purplish sheen. Head darker than body. Fins dark with thin pale margins.
Size
Maximum size to 294mm SL.
Habitat
Holotype taken in midwater from 1000-2438m.
Range
Known from off of the Bahamas and Bear Seamount off New England.
References
Cohen, D. M. 1974. A review of the pelagic ophidioid fish genus Brotulataenia with descriptions of two new species. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 55(2), 119-149.
Fahay, M. P., & J. G. Nielsen. 2003. Ontogenetic evidence supporting a relationship between Brotulotaenia and Lamprogrammus (Ophidiiformes: Ophidiidae) based on the morphology of exterilium and rubaniform larvae. Ichthyological Research, 50, 209-220.
Other Notes
The only other long-bodied Brotulotaenia species is B. crassa, which differs in body proportions and coloration.