Common Name
American Cusk-eel
Year Described
Nielsen, 1971
Identification
Dorsal Fin: 100-108
Anal Fin: 82-89
Pectoral Fin: 28-32
Caudal Fin: 8
Pelvic Fin: 1
Gill Rakers: 16-17 long rakers (lower limb of first arch)
Vertebrae: 13-14 precaudal, 45-49 caudal, 59-63 total
Body elongate with a straight head profile (pallidus group). Head compressed. Snout slightly longer than eye diameter. Eye diameter 3.8 times in HL. Mouth subterminal with jaw extending past rear of orbit. Maxilla sheathed dorsally and expended posteriorly. Small villiform teeth on premaxilla, dentary, vomer, and palatines. Basibranchial tooth patch present. Preopercular spines strong. Opercle well ossified with strong bifurcated spine. Dorsal and anal fins continuous with tail. Tail is elongated. Pectoral fin short and rounded. Pelvic fin a single small ray. Body with fragile cycloid scales. Head not scaled.
Color
Body uniformly pale brown. Opercular flap and orobranchial cavity dark brown. Fin margins dark brown. Eye pale.
Size
Maximum size to 250mm SL.
Habitat
Continental slopes on soft bottoms from 600-800m.
Range
Known from eastern Brazil to southern Brazil.
References
Girard, M. G., H. J. Carter, & G. D. Johnson. 2023. New species of Monomitopus (Ophidiidae) from Hawaiʻi, with the description of a larval coiling behavior. Zootaxa, 5330(2), 265-279.
Girard, M. G., & G. D. Johnson. 2024. Novel neurocranial fenestrae and expansions in Monomitopus and Selachophidium (Teleostei: Ophidiidae), with comments on the morphology, taxonomy, and evolution of the genera. Journal of Morphology, 285(8), e21753.
Carter, H. J., & D. M. Cohen. 1985. Monomitopus magnus, a new species of deep-sea fish (Ophidiidae) from the western North Atlantic. Bulletin of Marine Science, 36(1), 86-95.
Other Notes
A combination of gill raker and vertebral counts and a smaller size distinguishes this from its relative Monomitopus magnus. Morphological evidence indicates that this species might be most closely related to the eastern Atlantic Selachophidium guentheri and might be placed in that genus (Girard & Johnson, 2024).