Teleostei (teleosts) >
Lophiiformes (Anglerfishes) >
Melanocetidae (Black Seadevils)
Etymology: Melanocetus: Greek, 'melas' or 'melanos' = black + Greek, 'ketos' = any large sea creature, more often referring to a whale (Ref. 86949).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; bathypelagic; depth range ? - 420 m (Ref. 58018). Deep-water; 74°S - 75°S
Southern Ocean: Antarctica, Ross Sea.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 11.8 cm SL (female)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal soft rays (total): 14; Anal soft rays: 5. Distinguishing characteristics of female: nearly straight anterior margin of vomer; least outside width between frontals 16.9% SL; upper jaw with 33 teeth, lower jaw with 48 teeth; vomerine teeth 6; length of longest tooth in lower jaw 8.6% SL; width of pectoral fin lobe 10.4% SL; width of escal bulb 3.7% SL; illicium length 29.2% SL; esca with medial crest, absence of anterior and posterior escal crests; relatively thick integument (Ref. 86949).
Only specimen was collected at 390 m depth.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Pietsch, T.W., 1990. Melanocetidae. p. 214. In O. Gon and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Fishes of the Southern Ocean. J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology, Grahamstown, South Africa. (Ref. 5187)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5312 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01995 (0.00906 - 0.04395), b=3.01 (2.83 - 3.19), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.8 ±0.7 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).