Author: Risso, 1820

Alepocephalus rostratus Risso, 1820

Diagnosis: body fairly elongate and compressed, its greatest depth at origins of dorsal and anal fins. Head large, greater than body depth; eye large, equal or greater than snout, its hind margin at midpoint of head or nearer to snout tip; tip of upper jaw reaching to front margins of eye or pupil; gillrakers 6-8 + 1+ 15- 18 = 23-27. Pyloric caeca 19-28. Dorsal finrays 17-25, pectoral finrays 9-11, pelvic finrays 7-9, anal finrays 19-24, its origin opposite dorsal fin origin. Scales moderate, 50-55 in lateral line. Colour: dark purplish-brown; an unpigmented strip along dorsal and anal fin bases in juveniles. Size: to 47 cm.


Habitat: engybenthic over soft bottoms at about 300-3,600 m, normally 300-1,600 m; not commonly caught but perhaps abundant. Food: no data. Reproduction: no data.

Distribution: Atlantic coasts northward to southern Portugal, southern Bay of Biscay and off south-western Ireland; also western part of Mediterranean. Elsewhere, southward to the Cape Verde Is.; the western Atlantic record by Roule & Angel (1933) is doubtful.

Eggs, larvae and young stages. Holt & Byrne, 1908: 34 (eggs) | Fage, 1910: 45, fig. 2 (questionable post-larva) | D'Ancona, 1931: 21, fig. 22-23 (questionable young stages).
Otoliths (sagitta). Vaillant, 1888: 149, pl. XI (fig. l-la).

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Subphylum Vertebrata
Superclass Gnathostomata
Class Osteichthyes
Order Clupeiformes
Family Alepocephalidae
Genus Alepocephalus
Species Alepocephalus rostratus

Status in World Register of Marine Species

Accepted name: Alepocephalus rostratus Risso, 1820

Scientific synonyms and common names

Alepocephalus rostratus Risso, 1820

Synonyms:

Alepocephalus rostratus Risso, 1820, Memorie Accad. Sci. Torino, 25: 271-272, pl. X (fig. 4) ('Mer de Nice'). Two syntypes: MNHN no. B 844 and B 845.
Alepocephalus rostratus: Risso, 1826: 449-450, pl. XI (fig. 28) Valenciennes in Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1847: 169-178, pl. DLXVI Johnson, 1862: 285-287 Moreau, 1881: 463-465, fig. 198 Vaillant, 1888: 148-150, pl. XI (fig. l-ld), pl. XII (fig. 5) Carus, 1889-1893: 550 Holt & Byrne, 1908: 32-35, fig. 1, pl. III (fig. 1) Roule, 1919: 5 Koefoed, 1927: 34-35, pl. I (fig. 2) Roule & Angel, 1933: 4 Lozano Rey, 1947: 67-69, fig. 8 Maul, 1948: 10-11, fig. 2 Arte, 1951: 157, fig. 1 Albuquerque, 1954-1956: 224, fig. 122 Dollfus, 1955: 28-98 Grey, 1956: 103-104 Cadenat, 1961: 233 Wheeler, 1969: 123 Tortonese, 1970: 178-179, fig. 70 Geistdoerfer et al., 1971b: 1178 Maul, 1976: 9-10.


Common names:

risso's smooth-head [En]
caussinié [Fr]
celindra [Pr]

Carus, J. V. 1893. Vertebrata. 1. class. Pisces: 498-711, In: Prodromus faunae Mediterraneae sive Descriptio Animalium Maris Mediterranei incolarum quam comparata silva rerum quatenus innotuit adiectis locis et nominibus vulgaribus. . . Stuttgart, 1889-93, 2: ix+854 p.

Holt, E. W. L.; Byrne, L. W. 1908b. Second report on the fishes of the Irish atlantic slope. Fish. Irel. scient. Inv., 1906 [1908], 5 :1-63, 2 fig., 5 pl. Also publ. in Rep. Sea inld Fish. Ire., 1906 [1909], 2: 141-202, 2 fig., 5 pl.

Johnson, J. Y.1862b. Notes on rare and little-known fishes taken at Madeira. Ann. Mag. nat. Hist.., (3)10 :161-172, 274-287; ibid., 11: 237-248.

Moreau, E.1881-91. Histoire naturelle des poissons de la France, Paris, I, 1881: I-VII+ 1-480, fig. 1-82; II, 1881:1-572, fig. 83-145; III, 1881:1-697, fig. 146-220; Suppl., 1891: 1-144, fig. 221-227.

Risso, A.1820a. Mémoire sur quelques poissons observés dans la mer de Nice. J. Phys. Chim. Hist. nat., 91: 241-255.

Risso, A.1820b. Mémoire sur deux nouvelles espèces du genre Scopelus observeés dans la mer de Nice. Memorie Accad. Sci. Torino, 25: 262-269.

Vaillant, L. 1888. Poissons in Expéditions scientifiques du 'Travailleur' et du 'Talisman' pendant les années 1880-83. Masson, Paris, 406 p., 28 pl.

Valenciennes, A. 1828-49. See G. Cuvier & A. Valenciennes, 1828-49.

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