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Body fairly elongate; mouth large; premaxillary teeth even; vomer without teeth. Pseudobranch absent; gillrakers on first arch 13, 3 on hypobranchial, a single raker in articulation of epi- and ceratobranchial; gill filaments short, fused basally in broad segment shape along hypobranchial; branchiostegal rays 12, 5 on epihyal. Dorsal-fin rays 12–14; pectoral-fin rays 9–10; pelvic-fin rays 6; anal-fin rays 17–20; dorsal and anal fin origins about opposite; last dorsal and Anal-fin rays not split to base; dorsal adipose fin absent; anus close to pelvic fin base. Vertebrae 31 (32). Scales absent.
Photophores SO absent, ORB 1, OP 2, BR 8 (9), IV 3 + 10; VAV 3–4 evenly spaced, one anterior to genital opening; AC 12, one between last anal and first procurrent ray; OA 6; opercular and pre-caudal glands inconspicuous. Color of white ground colour with few melanophores; membrane between posteriormost branchiostegal rays transparent or at most with single stellate melanophore between each pair of rays; brown pigment conspicuous between anal pterygiophores.
Circumglobal in tropical and subtropical oceanic waters.
Oceanic, mesopelagic; pre-metamorphic post-larvae at 25–150 m, juveniles and adults at 300 600 m; no diel vertical migrations.
Badcock J. 1984. Gonostomatidae. pp. 284–301. In: P.J.P. Whitehead MLB, J.-C. Hureau, J. Nielsen, and E. Tortonese editor. Fishes of the Northeastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Paris: Unesco. p 1473 pp.
The following is a general description of the morphology of species of the genus Cyclothone from Badcock (1984).
Species of the genus typically small, fairly elongate. Pseudobranch absent; gill filaments longer in males; branchiostegal rays 13–14 (5–6 on epihyal). Dorsal- and anal-fin origins about opposite; last dorsal- and anal-fin rays not split to base; dorsal adipose fin absent; anus closer to pelvi-fin base than to anal-fin origin or a midpoint. Swimbladder regressed in adults. Scales present or absent.
Like many species of the genus, C. alba is hermaphroditic.
Males to 29 mm, females to 34 mm SL.
No data.
A syntype series: SMF 2108-12 (1, 12 10, 7, 2), 11941 (2); ZMB 17468-77 (5, 3, 2, 2, 5, 4, 2, 2, 5, 3), 22329-34 (8, 12, 2, 3, 3, 4); SNMBR I-10021 (2), I-10023 (1), I-10027 (1); SMNS 4486 (1), 4490 (2), 4492 (1); ZMB 17473-74 (4, 2); ZMH 8164-69 (8, 2, 7, 5, 3, 4).
