Author: Bean, 1925

Scopelosaurus smithii Bean, 1925

Diagnosis: body elongate, slender, its depth 7-8% SL; head rather larg posterior infra-orbital bones narrow, 1.4-1.7% SL, with a prominer anterior crest bordering eye and a posterior expanded, lobed lamell~ lower jaw with an anterior unpaired primary pore followed by two pail of such pores in anterior half, secondary pores numerous. Teeth smal premaxillae uniserial in young, in narrow band in adults, dentary in tw bands, on vomer and palatine in two or three groups. Gillrakers rather long, lath-like, 1 + 1 + 12-16. Dorsal fin origin at about midpoint of body, with 10-12 finrays; a short adipose dorsal fin present; anal fin with 17-19 finrays; pectoral fin long, with 11-14 (15) finrays; pelvic distinctl in front of dorsal, with 9 finrays; caudal fin forked. Scales cycloid, deciduous; lateral line 54-57. Vertebrae 53-56. Pyloric caeca 12-16. Colour: juveniles up to at least 67 mm SL have bright silvery scales with bluish iridescences, which may be present in fresh, undamaged adults, but scal easily shed. Size: to 222 mm SL.

Habitat: nerito-oceanic; meso- to benthopelagic at about 200-600 (adults), meso- to epipelagic at 50-200 m (young). Food: probably chiely zooplankton. Extensive migrations by juveniles and adults, probably for feeding in the subtropical belts. Reproduction: spawning occurs in tropic waters, in the Atlantic chiefly (if not exclusively) in the western part.

Distribution: only off Madeira. Elsewhere, Atlantic ocean, from abo 34° N to 20° S, with some larval drift in the western North Atlantic to about 40° N; Indian and Pacific Oceans between 20° N and 30° S.

Eggs, etc. Bertelsen, Krefft & Marshall, 1976: 47-48, fig. 29 (larval development).
Otoliths (sagitta). Kotthaus, 1972a: 16, 27, fig. 98-99.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Subphylum Vertebrata
Superclass Gnathostomata
Class Osteichthyes
Order Scopeliformes
Suborder Myctophoidei
Family Notosudidae
Genus Scopelosaurus
Species Scopelosaurus smithii

Status in World Register of Marine Species

Accepted name: Scopelosaurus smithii Bean, 1925

Scientific synonyms and common names

Scopelosaurus smithii Bean, 1925

Synonyms:

Scopelosaurus smithii Bean, 1955, Proc. biol. soc. Wash., 38 :13-14 (off Brazil). Holotype: USNM 86676.
Notosudis argenteus Maul, l954, Bol. Mus. munic. Funchal, 7 (18): 47-54, partim (paratype only), fig. 17 (bottom).
Notosudis lepida Krefft & Maul, l955, Arch. Fisch.Wiss., 6 (5/6): 305-316, partim (paratype only), fig. 17 (bottom).
Seopelosaurus smithii: Marshall, 1966: 201, partim, fig. 53 Bertelsen, Krefft & Marshall, 1976: 44-49, pl. 1, fig. 3, text-fig. 28.
Seopelosaurus lepidus (nec Krefft & Maul): Kotthaus, 1972a: 16, 23.


Common names:

none

Bean, B. A. 1925. Description of a new species of luminous lizard fish, Scopelosaurus smithii, from off the coast of Brazil. Proc. biol. Soc. Wash., 38 :13-14.

Bertelsen, E.; Krefft, G.; Marshall, N. B. 1976. The fishes of the family Notosudidae. Dana Rep., (86): 1 14 p., 67 fig., 1 pl.

Bertelsen, E.; Krefft, G.; Marshall, N. B. 1976. The fishes of the family Notosudidae. Dana Rep., (86): 1 14 p., 67 fig., 1 pl.

Kotthaus, A. 1972a. Die meso- und bathypelagischen Fische der Meteor'-Rossbreiten-Expedition 1970 (2 und 3 Fahrtabschnitt). 'Meteor' Forsch. Ergebnisse (D) (11): pp. 1-28, fig. 1-5 and 108 otolith-fig., Berlin & Stuttgart.

Krefft, G.; Maul, G. E. 1955. Notosudis lepida n. sp. (Iniomi, Notosudidae), eine neue Fischart aus dem östlichen Nord-Atlantik. Arch. FischWiss., 6: pp. 305-316.

Marshall, N. B. 1966b. Scopelosauridae in Fishes of the western North Atlantic. Mem. Sears Found. Mar. Res., 1(5): 194-203, fig. 50-54.

Maul, G. E. 1954b. Monografia dos Peixes do Museu Municipal do Funchal. Additions to previously revised families. Bolm Mus. munic. Funchal., 7 (18): pp. 41-63, fig. 14-21.

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