Darwin's slimehead (Gephyroberyx darwinii)

Scientific name: Gephyroberyx darwinii Johnson, 1866

Darwin's slimehead (Gephyroberyx darwinii)

The Darwin's slimehead (Gephyroberyx darwinii) is a marine fish of the family Trachichthyidae.

Biology

Dorsal spines (total): 7 - 8; Dorsal soft rays (total): 13-14; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 11 - 12. Head with a concave forehead profile and with large mucous cavities covered by tough skin; mouth large and oblique; opercle and preopercle each with a large strong spine; body deep, about 2.1 times in SL; ventral keel with 10 - 14 very robust scutes; caudal fin forked but rounded. Color of head and body is dusky pink, sides with silvery tinge, fins red; tongue and gill cavity blackish; palate white to red. Pale beet red to light rosy. Back light red to brownish red, lower sides light silvery gray.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Gephyroberyx darwinii
Family
Trachichthyidae (Slimeheads)
Order
Beryciformes (Sawbellies)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
60.0
Common length
45.0
Depth range
9–1210 m (30–3970 ft)
Environment
Marine; benthopelagic; depth range 9 - 1210 m, usually 200 - 500 m
Climate
Subtropical
Distribution
Eastern Atlantic: Madeira and the Canary Islands to Senegal, Gulf of Guinea and South Africa. Western Atlantic: southern Scotian Shelf, Canada to Greater Antilles, western Caribbean, Panama and northern Gulf of Mexico. Indo-Pacific: off Natal (South Africa), Bay of Bengal, southern Australia, Chatham Plateau around New Zealand, and the Philippines. Also in northern South America (Moore, pers. comm.).
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: commercial
Resilience
Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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