Argyropelecus gigas
Argyropelecus gigas Norman, 1930
- order Stomiiformes
- Gonostomatoidei
- family Sternoptychidae
- Sternoptychinae
- genus Argyropelecus Cocco, 1829
Common Names
Greater silver hatchetfish (English)
Overview
Description
Dorsal-fin rays 9 (rarely 10); anal-fin rays 12–13; P. 10–11; total gill rakers 18–21; vertebrae 38–39. Giant species, often exceeding 110 mm SL; trunk triangulate, body depth at end of dorsal fewer than 3.3 times into SL; caudal peduncle deep, its depth nearly equal to subcaudal photophore length; dorsal spine high, its height greater than one-third its length; post-temporal spine prominent; postabdominal spines symmetrical; preopercle spines as in A. affinis: jaws large; teeth small, recurved, a pair of larger canine teeth in upper jaw (premaxilla); gill rakers well developed; parietals, posttemporal, frontals and sphenotics with prominent spines or flanges; in preservative pigment in small spots along midline; very heavy mucoid secretion often present.
Rights holder(s): Kenaley, Christopher - Comment (0)
Type Information
Type specimen(s)
Holotype: BMNH 1930.1.12.328 (or 329).
Rights holder(s): Kenaley, Christopher - Comment (0)
Type locality
Atlantic, 2°49'30"S, 9°25'30"W, depth 800–1000 meters.
Rights holder(s): Kenaley, Christopher - Comment (0)
Synonymy
Data on Catalog of Fishes
View data on Catalog of Fishes here.
Rights holder(s): Kenaley, Christopher - Comment (0)
Description
Diagnostic Description
Supra-abdominal, preanal, anal, and subcaudal photophores in a nearly continuous in a straight line; subcaudal photophores separate, an appreciable gap between each photophore; 3 separate hypural elements in lower caudal lobe. Dorsal blade high, its height greater than one-third its length; body margin markedly raised posterior to dorsal blade; ventral keel scales extend well below abdominal photophores forming flaplike process; prominent laterally directed sphenotic spine near dorsal, posterior edge of orbit. Differs from A. affinis, the most similar species, by its broader body depth and trunk; more distinct trunk striations; relatively shorter teeth in lower jaw; more well-developed post-temporal spines; rough dorsal body surface; and more well-developed neurocranial crests (frontals, sphenotics, and parietals).
Rights holder(s): Kenaley, Christopher - Comment (0)
Size
A large species often growing beyong 110 mm SL.
Rights holder(s): Kenaley, Christopher - Comment (0)
Ecology and Distribution
Distribution
Although occurring in all oceans except the North Pacific, this species appears quite restricted locally. It is taken in abundance in the Gulf of Guinea, in the eastern North Atlantic off North Africa and southern Spain, in the northern Gulf of Mexico, and off Chile in the South Pacific; small catches of this species are recorded along longitude 67°E from the equator to 40°S in the Indian Ocean, across the South Pacific between 35° S and 50° S from Chile to Zealand in the South Pacific, and between New York and Cape in the North Atlantic. Additional records: 36°35'S, 95°28'E.
Rights holder(s): Kenaley, Christopher - Comment (0)
Habitat
Concentrated between 400 m and 600 m; no indication of diurnal vertical movement or marked geographic variation in depth distribution.
Rights holder(s): Kenaley, Christopher - Comment (0)
References
References
Baird RC. 1971. The Systematics, Distribution, and Zoogeography of the Marine Hatchetfishes (family Sternoptychidae). Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zooology 142(1):1–128.
Rights holder(s): Kenaley, Christopher - Comment (0)
Main Reference
Baird RC. 1971. The Systematics, Distribution, and Zoogeography of the Marine Hatchetfishes (family Sternoptychidae). Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zooology 142(1):1–128.
Rights holder(s): Kenaley, Christopher - Comment (0)