Teleostei (teleosts) >
Acropomatiformes (Oceanic basses) >
Epigonidae (Deepwater cardinalfishes)
Etymology: Epigonus: Greek, epi = over, in front + Greek, gonio = angle (Ref. 45335); lifouensis: Named for its type locality.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; pelagic-oceanic; depth range 500 - 575 m (Ref. 93890). Tropical
Southwest Pacific: New Caledonia.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 14.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 93890); 20.3 cm SL (female)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 8; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 9; Vertebrae: 25. This species is distinguished by the following set of characters: no opercular spine; ribs present on the last abdominal vertebra; absence of tooth on tongue, maxillary mustache-like process and tubercle on inner symphysis of lower jaw; elliptical eye; total gill rakers 24-25; vertebrae 10 + 15; pored lateral-line scales 48-49 + 3-4; D VII-I,10; pectoral-fin rays 18-19; pyloric caeca 10-13; body depth 17.0-17.1 % SL; posterior half of oral cavity and tongue black (Ref. 93890).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
The male holotype has a fully ripe testis and the female paratype with a great number of eggs in several developmental stages. The most developed eggs were ca. 0.4 mm in diameter, round with a single oil globule (Ref. 93890).
Okamoto, M. and H. Motomura, 2013. Two new species of deepwater cardinalfish from the Indo-Pacific, with a definition of the Epigonus pandionis group (Perciformes: Epigonidae). Ichthyol. Res. 60(4):301-311. (Ref. 93890)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 2.5 - 4.6, mean 3.3 °C (based on 406 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01230 (0.00556 - 0.02722), b=3.01 (2.82 - 3.20), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this Genus-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.5 ±0.5 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (15 of 100).
