Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Argentiniformes (Marine smelts) > Microstomatidae (Pencil smelts)
Etymology: Microstoma: Greek, mikros = small + Greek,stoma = mouth (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Risso.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; bathypelagic. Deep-water; 55°N - 49°S, 180°W - 180°E

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Probably worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas. Eastern Atlantic: southern Ireland, scattered records in western Mediterranean, also Madeira Islands. Western Atlantic: Gulf of Mexico (Ref. 27768). Western Pacific: Australia (Ref. 7300) and New Zealand (Ref. 5755).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 21.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3978)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10 - 12; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 7 - 9; Vertebrae: 44 - 45. Body silvery, darker near tail (Ref. 3978). Swim bladder faintly colored. Adults mostly silver (Ref. 37473).

Mesopelagic species (Ref. 3978, 58302). Generally solitary. Probably feeds on zooplankton. Spawns throughout the year in the Mediterranean, more in winter.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Cohen, D.M., 1984. Argentinidae (including Microstomatidae). p. 386-391. In P.J.P. Whitehead, M.-L. Bauchot, J.-C. Hureau, J. Nielsen and E. Tortonese (eds.) Fishes of the north-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean, Volume 1. Unesco, Paris. (Ref. 4773)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)

Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 10 July 2014

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: of no interest

FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet composition
Food consumption
Food rations
Predators

Ecology
Ecology

Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance

Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Spawning
Spawning aggregations
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Larval dynamics

Distribution
Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
BRUVS - Videos

Anatomy
Gill area
Brain
Otolith

Physiology
Body composition
Nutrients
Oxygen consumption
Swimming type
Swimming speed
Visual pigments
Fish sound
Diseases & Parasites
Toxicity (LC50s)

Genetics
Genetics
Heterozygosity
Heritability

Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.

Outreach
Collaborators

Taxonomy
Common names
Synonyms
Morphology
Morphometrics
Pictures

References
References

Tools

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 8.8 - 19.6, mean 13.4 °C (based on 608 cells).

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD₅₀ = 1.0000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00389 (0.00180 - 0.00842), b=3.12 (2.94 - 3.30), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref. 93245).

Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 3.4 ±0.45 se; based on food items.

Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): Low vulnerability (11 of 100).

Microstoma microstoma (Risso, 1810)