Description

Anal soft rays: 12 - 15; Vertebrae: 77 - 81. In adults, head depth 23.2-26.8% of lower jaw length. Postorbital area 5.5-7.6% SL or 28.8-33.3% (less than 3 times smaller than HL). Rear edge of gill cover overlaps with the middle of the 4th vertebrae. Postadipose distance 6-7.4% SL (Ref. 31260).

Common Names

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Teleostei

Order: Aulopiformes

Family: Anotopteridae

Genus: Anotopterus

Species: Anotopterus pharao Zugmayer, 1911

Climate Zone

Location

• North Atlantic: from Canada (Ref. 5951), Greenland and Davis Strait, to Madeira I. and Canary Is. (Ref. 31260).

Biology

Epimesopelagic species. Juveniles and fry observed exclusively within the central-circle current and its periphery; large adults caught mainly in boreal and sub-arctic waters. Feeds mainly on small and moderate-sized mesopelagic fishes; the largest Paralepis coregonoides and Arctozenus risso, had body length of 28-30 cm; a specimen caught from the southern region of Reykjanes Ridge had 12 individuals of Sebastes mentella ranging from 4.5-5 cm. Stomachs of those caught in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge have small squids (Ref. 31260).

Habitat

bathypelagic

Conservation Status

Least Concern

Threat to Humans

Harmless