Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; bathypelagic; depth range 0 - 4580 m (Ref. 58302), usually 1200 - 2000 m (Ref. 32364). Deep-water; 55°N - 20°S, 180°W - 180°E
Circumglobal: In tropical to temperate waters. North of about 20°S; except Mediterranean Sea and eastern Central Pacific. NorthEast Pacific: Queen Charlotte Islands, British Colombia, Canada to central Mexico, including the Gulf of California (Ref. 32364).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 80.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 96339)
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 300; Anal spines: 0. Dorsal fin with up to 350 rays; caudal much reduced, linear; anal fin rays 265-270 or more; pectorals small (Ref. 6885). Uniform dusky brown, except jaws, pectoral fins, and lower abdomen which are paler (Ref. 6885). Strong sexual dimorphism (Ref. 3247).
Meso- and bathypelagic (Ref. 58302). Feed on crustaceans (Ref. 3247). Oviparous, with planktonic leptocephali (Ref. 32364). Degenerative changes in males and females suggest semelparity (Ref. 32364). Minimum depth reported taken from Ref. 86942.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Smith, D.G., 1990. Nemichthyidae. p. 199-202. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 1. (Ref. 4456)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: of no interest
Tools
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 2.2 - 5.6, mean 3.6 °C (based on 1847 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5645 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00102 (0.00046 - 0.00225), b=3.06 (2.88 - 3.24), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.5 ±0.50 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Assuming tmax>10).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Moderate to high vulnerability (52 of 100).