Author: Koefoed, 1927

Rinoctes nasutus (Koefoed, 1927)

Diagnosis: body fairly slender, head large, about 3 1/2 times in body. Snout pointed, premaxillae produced into a 'beak' projecting beyond tip of lower jaw; upper jaw reaching to front part of eye; teeth present in both jaws, on vomer and on basibranchials. Dorsal fin moderate, with 11-15 finrays, its origin somewhat behind midpoint of body, pectoral finrays 8-10; pelvic finrays 7-8 (plus a splint bone); anal fin origin below about middle of dorsal fin, with 10-13 finrays. Body scaleless. Colour: head blackish, body pale yellowish. Size: to 19 cm.

Habitat: probably engybenthic, abyssal, at 2,000-4,156 m, mostly below 3,650 m; locally frequent, somewhat gregarious. Food: engybenthic crustaceans, worms, sponges. Reproduction: large ovarian eggs (to 4.5 mm in diameter) and few (20 in a fish of 18.3 cm).

Distribution: scattered records off Morocco, the Azores and to the southwest of Ireland. Elsewhere, southward to 20° N; also, Gulf of Mexico.

Eggs, larvae and youns stages. No data.
Otoliths (sagitta). No data.

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

Status in World Register of Marine Species

Accepted name: Rinoctes nasutus (Koefoed, 1927)

Scientific synonyms and common names

Rinoctes nasutus Koefoed, 1927

Synonyms:

Rinoctes nasutus Koefoed, 1927
Bathytroctes nasutus Koefoed, 1927, Rep. scient. Results 'Michael Sars' N, Atlantic deep Sea Exped. 1910, 4 (1): 50-51, pl. III (fig. 10) (34°59'N., 33°01'W., 2865 m). Holotype: UBNM no. 3208.
Rinoctes nasutus Parr, 1952: 264-265 Grey, 1956: 106 Markle, 1976: 160-161, fig. 39A.


Common names:

abyssal smooth-head [En]

Grey, M. 1956. The distribution of fishes found below a depth of 2000 meters. Fieldiana, Zool., 36 (2): 75-337.

Koefoed, E. 1927. Fishes from the Sea-Bottom. Rep. scient. Results Michael Sars N. Atlant. deep Sea Exped., [tittle page: 1927, 1932], 4 (1): 148 pp., 55 fig., 6 pl.

Markle, D. F. 1976. Preliminary studies on the systematics of deep-sea Alepocephaloidea (Pisces: Salmoniformes). A dissertation presented to the Faculty of the School of Marine Science. The College of William and Mary in Virginia. 225 pp., 41 fig. (not published).

Markle, D. F.; Merrett, N. R. 1980. The abyssal alepocephalid, Rinoctes nasutus (Pisces, Salmoniformes), a redescription and an evaluation of its systematic position. J. Zool., Lond., 190: 225-239, 9 fig.

Parr, A. E. 1952b. Revision of the species currently referred to Alepocephalus, Halisauriceps, Bathytroctes and Bajacalifornia with introduction of two new genera. Bull. Mus. comp. Zool. Harv., 107 (4): pp. 255-269.

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