Author: Günther, 1878

Bathysaurus mollis Günther, 1878

Diagnosis: adipose fin present. Dorsal fin base c. 1 1/4 times length of anal fin base. Lateral line not extending on to caudal fin. Tip of one unbranched pectoral ray elongated and upturned. Dorsal finrays 15-17; anal finrays 11-13; pelvic finrays 8; pectoral finrays 16-17. Branchiostegal rays 8. Vertebrae 50-52. Colour: white; peritoneum, branchial and buccal regions dark. A series of faint vertical bars evident in smaller specimens. Size: to 85 cm (40-65 cm typically).

Habitat: benthic on the continental rise and the abyss. Depth range 1,550-4,800 m; commonly found below 2,000 m (in water colder than 4 °C) Solitary, lurking bottom feeder. Food: no data; probably piscivorous. Reproduction: larva has been described by Johnson (1974).

Distribution: circumglobal (except perhaps for the tropical eastern Pacific) between lat. 50° N and 20° S. About 50 specimens have been obtained worldwide. In the eastern North Atlantic known from off Northern Ireland to off Cape Blanc and at points along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Recorded once from the Mediterranean.

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

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Subphylum Vertebrata
Superclass Gnathostomata
Class Osteichthyes
Order Scopeliformes
Suborder Myctophoidei
Family Synodontidae
Genus Bathysaurus
Species Bathysaurus mollis

Status in World Register of Marine Species

Accepted name: Bathysaurus mollis Günther, 1878

Scientific synonyms and common names

Bathysaurus mollis Günther, 1878

Synonyms:

Bathysaurus obtusirostris Vaillant, 1888
Macristium sp. Johnson, 1974b.
Bathysaurus mollis Günther, 1878, Ann. Mag. nat. Hist., (5) 2: 182 (middle of South Pacific or off Yeddo). Syntypes: BMNH no. 1887.12.7.192-193.
Bathysaurus mollis: Günther, 1887, 22: 183, pl. 46B Vaillant, 1888: 139 Goode & Bean, 1896: 59 Murray & Hjort, 1912a: 414 Vaillant, 1919: 130 Koefoed, 1927: 62 Fowler, 1936, 1: 346, fig. 1 Grey, 1956: 129 Nybelin, 1957: 252 Mead, 1966: 109-112, fig. 37.
Bathysaurus obtusirostris Vaillant, 1888, Expéd. sci. 'Travailleur' 'Talisman': 136-139, pl. X (fig. 2, 2a-g), pl. XIV (fig. 3) (near the Cape Verde Isls.). Holotype: MNHN no. 85-150.


Common names:

none

Günther, A. 1878. Preliminary notices of Deep-Sea Fishes Collected during the Voyage of H.M.S. Challenger. Ann. Mag. nat. Hist., (5) 2: 17-28, 179-187, 248-251.

Goode, G. B.; Bean, T. H. 1896. Oceanic ichthyology, a treatise on the deep-sea and pelagic fishes of the world, based chiefly upon the collections made by steamers Blake, Albatross and Fish Hawk in the northwestern Atlantic. Smithson. Contrib. Knowl., 30 and Spec. Bull U.S. natn. Mus., 1895 [1896] and Mem. Mus. comp. Zool. Harv., 1 (Text): xxxv+1-553; 2 (Atlas): xxiii+1-26, 123 pl., 417 fig.

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

Johnson, R. K. 1974b. A Macristium larva from the Gulf of Mexico with additional evidence for the synonymy of Macristium with Bathysaurus (Myctophiformes: Bathysauridae). Copeia (4): 973-977.

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 p., 55 fig., 6 pl.

Mead, G. W. Ed. 1966. Order Iniomi. In Fishes of the western North Atlantic. Mem. Sears Found. Mar. Res., 1(5): 1-602, fig. 1-218.

Murray, J.; Hjort, J. 1912a. The depths of the ocean. A general account of the modern science of oceanography based largely on the scientific researches of the norwegian steamer Michael Sars in the North Atlantic. London, 1912: xx + 821 p. 575 fig. + unnumbered fig., 4 maps, 9 pl.

Nybelin, 0. 1957. Deep-Sea bottom-fishes. Rep. Swed. deep Sea Exped., 2, Zool. (20): 247-345, 50 fig., 7 pl.

Vaillant, L. 1919. In: L. Roule, Appendice: Liste des espèces déterminées par M. le professeur L. Vaillant. Résult. Camp. scient. Prince Albert I, 52: 129-135.

Vaillant, L. 1888. Poissons in Expéditions scientifiques du 'Travailleur' et du 'Talisman' pendant les années 1880-1883. Masson, Paris, 406 p., 28 pl.

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