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Teleostei (teleosts) > Beryciformes (Sawbellies) > Melamphaidae (Bigscale fishes or ridgeheads)
Etymology: Melamphaes: Greek, melan, -anos = black + Greek, amphi = both side (Ref. 45335).

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

Marine; bathypelagic; depth range 0 - 860 m (Ref. 58018). Deep-water; 42°N - 25°N

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Eastern Pacific: endemic to the California Current region.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 4.9 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 117119)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 3; Dorsal soft rays (total): 13 - 15; Anal spines: 1; Anal soft rays: 7 - 9; Vertebrae: 27 - 29. Branchiostegal rays: 8-8 (Ref. 36655).

A mesopelagic species, found primarily below 200 m depth (Ref. 36655). All studied specimens were reported to have been sampled by nonclosing gears from the depth of more than 2000 m that one cannot conclude about the exact sampling depth and the depth range of this species; notably, larger specimens occur deeper than young ones (Ref. 117119). Oviparous, with planktonic eggs and larvae (Ref. 36655).

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

Oviparous (Ref. 36655).

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Sandknop, E.M. and W. Watson, 1996. Melamphaidae: bigscales. p. 692-711. In H.G. Moser (ed.) The early stages of fishes in the California Current region. California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) Atlas No. 33. 1505 p. (Ref. 36655)

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

Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 30 December 2019

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

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Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 4.6 - 12.4, mean 5.5 °C (based on 13 cells).

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD₅₀ = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01072 (0.00442 - 0.02595), b=3.10 (2.89 - 3.31), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).

Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 3.4 ±0.2 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 (10 of 100).

Melamphaes parvus Ebeling, 1962