Common Name
Marbled Pink Cusk-eel
Year Described
Forster, 1801
Identification
Dorsal Fin: 131-160
Anal Fin: 98-126
Pectoral Fin: 19-28
Caudal Fin:
Pelvic Fin: 2
Gill Rakers: 4 well developed rakers on first arch
Vertebrae: 67-71 total
Body elongate and robust, tapering gradually to the tail. Head very large. Snout longer than eye diameter. No obvious rostral spine. Eye large. Mouth large and rear edge of maxilla extending to rear margin of orbit. Pelvic fins on throat under eye. Body and head fully scaled. 3-6 dorsal and 1-3 ventral pyloric caeca.
Color
Body pale tan to whitish with pinkish to red-brown mottling or marbling over most of the dorsum. Pattern fades ventrally to a uniformly pale belly. Fins mottled in the same colors.
Size
Maximum size to 200cm SL. but usually <100cm SL.
Habitat
Found at a wide variety of depths and substrates from 22-1000m. Larger adults are captured deeper than juveniles.
Range
Southwestern Atlantic: southern Brazil to southern Argentina. Also the SE Pacific.
References
Mabragana, E., J. M. Díaz de Astarloa, J. Hanner, R., Zhang, & M. Gonzalez Castro. 2011. DNA barcoding identifies Argentine fishes from marine and brackish waters. PLoS One, 6(12), e28655.
Nielsen, J. G., D. M. Cohen, D. F. Markle and C. R. Robins. 1999. FAO species catalogue. Volume 18. Ophidiiform fishes of the world (Order Ophidiiformes). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of pearlfishes, cusk-eels, brotulas and other ophidiiform fishes known to date. FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) Fisheries Synopsis No. 125: i-xi + 1-178.
Other Notes
This is the name for the mottled Genypterus in the SW Atlantic. A taxonomic revision is needed to differentiate between the two SW Atlantic Genypterus based on morphology and meristics.