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Escal appendage pattern B; esca with an elongate anterior escal appendage, proximal one-half of length internally pigmented, bearing one or two unpigmented filaments on anterior margin near distal tip (45-mm specimen with about eight, extremely thin filaments more or less equally spaced along posterior margin); 45-mm specimen with two tiny branched medial appendages arising from near base of anterior escal appendage; a short unpaired and unpigmented medial escal appendage emerging near base of terminal papilla, bearing numerous tiny filaments along its length; a rounded terminal escal papilla; a short unpigmented anteroposteriorly compressed posterior escal appendage, bearing three to six, short, unpigmented lateral filaments along its length; anterolateral escal appendages absent in holotype, a tiny branched anterolateral escal appendage on each side in 45-mm specimen; lateral escal appendages absent; distal tip of internal tube of anterior escal appendage and dorsal pigment patch of escal bulb with a paired circular translucent “eye spot.”
Subopercle without indentation on posterodorsal margin; length of ventral fork of opercle 25.0–30.0% SL; ratio of lengths of dorsal and ventral forks of opercle 0.46–0.55.
Epibranchial teeth absent; pharyngobranchial II well toothed; total number of teeth in upper jaw 36–44, in lower jaw 34–39; number of teeth on vomer 6; dorsal-fin rays 5; anal-fin rays 4; pectoral-fin rays 15 or 16.
Measurements in percent of standard length: head length 38.0–44.4; head depth 44.5–49.8; head width 25.8–34.7; premaxilla length 30.5–35.6; lower jaw length 43.0–51.1; illicium length 15.6.
Oneirodes epithales differs from all known congeners in escal morphology: an elongate distally branched anterior escal appendage; a single, short medial escal appendage; lateral escal appendages absent; a tiny anterolateral escal appendages present or absent.
Oneirodes epithales is known only from the Western North Atlantic, the holotype captured approximately 800 km south of Newfoundland in an open trawl somewhere between the surface and 1829 m; and a second specimen from Georges Bank, depth unknown.
Probably meso- to bathypelagic
Pietsch TW. 2009. Oceanic Anglerfishes: Extraordinary Diversity in the Deep Sea. Berkley: University of California Press. 638 p.
Although unknown, males of O. epithales are certainly free living and non-parasitic, as is the case with most oneirodid taxa.
Know from two metamorphosed females (45–128 mm).
Western North Atlantic, from off Newfoundland, 41°05'39N, 56°25'33"W
Holotype of Oneirodes epithales: ARC 8602571, 128 mm.
