Common Name
Magnum Cusk-eel
Year Described
Carter & Cohen, 1985
Identification
Dorsal Fin: 104-109
Anal Fin: 85-92
Pectoral Fin: 27-31
Caudal Fin: 8
Pelvic Fin: 1
Gill Rakers: 10-11 long rakers (lower limb of first arch)
Vertebrae: 15 precaudal, 46-49 caudal, 61-65 total
Body elongate with a straight head profile (pallidus group). Head compressed. Snout slightly longer than eye diameter. Eye diameter 4.6-5.3 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. Five pharyngeal tooth patches. Two 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.
Size
The largest member of the genus: to 535mm SL.
Habitat
Continental slopes over soft calcareous ooze bottoms (731-930m).
Range
Known from the Blake Plateau off South Carolina to the eastern half of the Gulf of Mexico.
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.
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 larger size distinguishes this from its relative Monomitopus americanus.