Common Name
Spotted Barracudina
Year Described
Bonaparte, 1840
Identification
Dorsal Fin: 8-11
Anal Fin: 31-34
Pectoral Fin: 11-12
Pelvic Fin: 9
Lateral Line: 63-70
Vertebrae: 76-85 (81-85 in western Atlantic)
Prepelvic distance 66-70% SL. Pelvic fin origin behind dorsal fin origin. Two rows of teeth with ~25 canines. Palatine with 3-6 depressible, elongate canines and many tiny fixed teeth.
Color
Body silvery with a darker dorsum. Many spots on the rear of the body. Base of anal fin with dark pigment.
Size
Maximum size to 30cm SL.
Habitat
Mesopelagic to epipelagic from 0-1000m.
Range Map
Range
The subtropical and boreal north Atlantic, from Greenland to off the Carolinas. Also in the southern hemisphere in the subtropical convergence with strays to the Falklands.
References
Post, A. 1985. Paralepididae. In: Fischer, W. and Hureau, J-C. (Eds.) FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. Southern Ocean (Fishing areas 48, 58 and 88). Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, Rome.
Rofen, R.R. In: Anderson, W.W., R.H. Gibbs, F.H. Berry, W.A. Gosline, J.E. Bohlke, N.B. Marshall, R.L. Bolin, G.W. Mead, J.W. Gehringer, R.R. Rofen, and N.J. Wilimovsky. 1966. Fishes of the Western North Atlantic. Part 5. Iniomi and Lyomeri. Memoir No. 1. Sears Foundation for Marine Research; Yale University, New Haven, CT. 647 pp., 220 plates.