North Pacific daggertooth (Anotopterus nikparini)

Scientific name: Anotopterus nikparini Kukuev, 1998

North Pacific daggertooth (Anotopterus nikparini)

The North Pacific daggertooth (Anotopterus nikparini) is a marine fish of the family Anotopteridae. Native range: North Pacific, Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska; south in Pacific waters to about 25?N, south of Baja California and Japan.

Biology

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 0; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 14 - 17; Vertebrae: 78 - 80. Dark brownish, silvery ventrally; paired fins and caudal fin uniformly black. Body extremely elongate. Large adults with a pair of dermal keels midlaterally on each side. Small, flexible projection at tip of lower jaw. Gill membranes joined forward, below anterior edge of eye, and free from isthmus. No rayed dorsal fin. No scales. In adults, head depth 29-33% of lower jaw length. Postorbital area 8.1-9.7% SL or 34.4-38.8% (less than 3 times smaller than HL). Rear edge of gill cover overlaps with the vertical of the 5th vertebrae. Postadipose distance 7-8% SL.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Anotopterus nikparini
Family
Anotopteridae (Daggertooth)
Order
Aulopiformes (Grinners)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
146
Depth range
0–2750 m (0–9022 ft)
Environment
Marine; bathypelagic; depth range 0 - 2750 m, usually 0 - 700 m
Climate
Temperate
Distribution
North Pacific: Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska; south in Pacific waters to about 25?N, south of Baja California and Japan.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Resilience
High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K=0.5)

Sources

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

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