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body elongate; mouth large, premaxillary teeth even, none greatly enlarged; teeth on posterior half of upper jaw not strongly curved forwards but enlarging irregularly caudad, with long teeth separated by 2–4 small teeth (Fig. 7b); vomer with teeth. Pseudobranch absent; gillrakers on first arch 23–27, 45 (6) on hypobranchial, no raker in articulation of epi- and ceratobranchial; branchiostegal rays 13–14, (5) 6 on epihyal. Dorsal-fin rays 14–15 (16); pectoral finrays 9–11; pelvic finrays 6; Anal-fin rays 17–19; last dorsal and Anal-fin rays not split to base; dorsal adipose fin absent; anus closer to pelvic fin base than anal fin origin. Pyloric caeca 3–4. Vertebrae 30–32. Scales present. Photophores.:SO absent, ORB 1, OP 2, BR 9–10, IV 3 + 10; VAV 45, two anterior to genital opening; AC (14) 15, two between last anal and first procurrent ray; OA 8 (9); supra-caudal and infra-caudal glands about equal, restricted to procurrent rays; opercular gland well developed, extending dorsad to upper OP. Color of uniformly blackish-brown.
pseudoceanic, deep meso- to bathypelagic; juveniles and adults at 300–1,250 m; no diel vertical migrations.
Grey, 1964: 185.
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.
dioecious.
male to 3 mm, female to 50 mm SL.
eastern tropical Atlantic, endemic to African seaboard but sampled in Clofnam area in small numbers to about 49° N; northern record 60° N, 20° W; absent in Mediterranean.
no data.
