Violet cuskeel (Brotulotaenia crassa)

Scientific name: Brotulotaenia crassa Parr, 1934

The Violet cuskeel (Brotulotaenia crassa) is a marine fish of the family Ophidiidae. Native range: Eastern Atlantic, Morocco, and rare from off Western Europe and off South Africa. Western Atlantic: around the West Indies. Also known from the Indian Ocean.

Biology

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 119-134; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 98 - 108. Scales small, non-imbricate prickles; opercle with no spine; median basibranchial tooth patch absent; gill rakers are tooth-bearing tubercles; otolith very small and rounded; precaudal vertebrae 12-15.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name: Brotulotaenia crassa
Family: Ophidiidae (Cusk-eels)
Order: Ophidiiformes (Cusk eels)
Class: Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length: 86.0
Depth range: 249–1100 m (817–3609 ft)
Environment: Marine; bathypelagic; depth range 249 - 1100 m
Climate: Deep-water
Distribution: Eastern Atlantic: Morocco, and rare from off Western Europe and off South Africa. Western Atlantic: around the West Indies. Also known from the Indian Ocean.
Conservation status (IUCN): Not Evaluated
Threat to humans: Harmless
Uses: Fisheries: of no interest
Resilience: Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 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.

Last updated 27 September 2026