Common Name
Longarm Cusk-eel
Year Described
Garman, 1899
Identification
Dorsal Fin: 125-128
Anal Fin: 104-105
Pectoral Fin: 25-29
Caudal Fin: 8
Pelvic Fin: 1
Gill Rakers: 15-20 long rakers (lower limb of first arch)
Vertebrae: 14-15 precaudal
Body elongate, compressed and tapering posteriorly. Head small. Two low fleshy crests on top of head. Eyes much smaller than snout (3 times in snout length). Mouth large, oblique and extending well past orbit. Maxilla sheathed dorsally. Tiny granular teeth in jaws, vomer, and palatines. One median basibranchial tooth patch. Opercular spine very weak. Preopercle without spines and broadly expanded almost to opercular edge. Dorsal and anal fins contiinuous with tail. Dorsal origin above pectoral base. Anal fin begins under ~25th dorsal ray. Caudal fin elongated. Pectoral fin bilobed in mature males with modified stiff lower lobe (normal fin in immature males and mature females). Lower lobe extends well beyond rest of fin and is oar-shaped. Pelvic fin filamentous and long. Head and body completely scaled. Four lateral lines present with pores easily visible.
Color
Head and body brown, heavily peppered with dark melanophores. Head, gill region, gut and pectoral fins often darker.
Size
Maximum size to 386mm SL.
Habitat
Bathydemersal from 1355-2820m.
Range
Confirmed only from S. Brazil in our area.
References
Garman, S. 1899. The Fishes. In: Reports on an exploration off the west coasts of Mexico, Central and South America, and off the Galapagos Islands … by the U. S. Fish Commission steamer “Albatross,” during 1891 … No. XXVI. Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoology v. 24: Text: 1-431, Atlas: Pls. 1-85 + A-N.
Machida, Y., & S. Ohta. 1990. Occurrence of the deep-sea ophidiid fish Eretmichthys pinnatus in the Pacific off Japan. Japanese Journal of Ichthyology, 37(3), 314-317.
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.
Other Notes
A poorly known genus globally and in need of revision. Brazilian specimens may represent an undescribed species. Description follows that of Pacific material.