Author: Zugmayer, 1911

Benthalbella infans Zugmayer, 1911

Diagnosis: dorsal finrays 8-9, anal finrays 20-25, pectoral finrays 25-28, shorter than pelvic fin. Scales in lateral line 55-59. Luminous organs present on isthmus (IO), within the pelvic fin musculature (POa), just posterior to the pelvic fin bases (POp) and just anterior to the anus (A). Colour: in alcohol, uniformly dull brown, slightly darker on the edges of scale pockets; a dense black stripe along belly between POp and AO luminous organs; pigment present on all fins. Size: to 138 mm SL.

Habitat: oceanic, meso- or bathypelagic. Some night-time records of adults are from the upper 200 m, but most are from hauls to depths considerably in excess of 500 m; larvae taken in all parts of the range all times of the year, most commonly in hauls to depths between 300 and 600 m. Food: adults prey on other midwater fishes. Reproduction: no data.

Distribution: widespread in southern oceanic areas northward to 61° 04' N; absent in Mediterranean. Elsewhere, tropical and subtropical regions of all the oceans, but unknown in the eastern Pacific.

Eggs, larvae and young stages. The specimens described under this species are likely to be larvae, unless this is a neotenic species.
Otoliths (sagitta). No data.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Subphylum Vertebrata
Superclass Gnathostomata
Class Osteichthyes
Order Scopeliformes
Suborder Alepisauroidei
Family Scopelarchidae
Genus Benthalbella
Species Benthalbella infans

Status in World Register of Marine Species

Accepted name: Benthalbella infans Zugmayer, 1911

Scientific synonyms and common names

Benthalbella infans Zugmayer, 1911

Synonyms:

Neoscopelarchoides dubius Marshall, 1955
Benthalbella infans Zugmayer, 1911a, Bull. Inst. océan. Monaco, (193): 14 ('36° 07' N., 10°18' W.'). Holotype: MOM St. 3036.
Benthalbella infans: Zugmayer, 1911b: 140-142, pl. 11 (fig. 8) ? Smith, 1918: 34-35 Fowler, 1936: 212 (description from Zugmayer) ? Nybelin, 1948: 44-48, pl. 3 (fig. 46) (description, comparison with type, discussion on ontogeny) ? Koefoed, 1955: 7.
? Neoscopelarchoides sp., Marshall, 1955, 'Discovery' Rep., 27: 311-312, fig. 3a & 3a' ('off the Azores').


Common names:

zugmayer's pearleye [En]

Fowler, H. W. 1936. The Marine Fishes of West Africa, based on the collection of the American Museum Congo Expedition 1909-1915. Bull. am. Mus. nat. Hist., 70 (1), Jan. 21, 1936: vii + 606 p., fig. 1-275; (2), Nov. 18, 1936: 607-1493, fig. 276-567.

Koefoed, E. 1955. Iniomi (Myctophidae exclusive), Lyomeri, Apodes. Rep. scient. Results Michael Sars N. Atlant. deep Sea Exped., 1910, 4, II (4): 1-15, 3 fig., 2 pl.

Marshall, N. B. 1955. Studies of Alepisauroid fishes. 'Discovery' Rep., 27: 303-336, pl. XIX.

Merrett, N. R.; Badcock, J.; Herring, P. J. 1973. The status of Benthalbella infans (Pisces, Myctophoidei), its development, bioluminescence, general biology, and distribution in the eastern North Atlantic. J. Zool., London, 170: 1-48 p.

Nybelin, 0. 1948. Fishes collected by the Skagerak Expedition in the eastern Atlantic 1946. Göteborgs K. Vetensk.-o. VitterSamh. Handl., (B) 5 (16): 1-95, 9 fig., 6 pl. (also publ. in Meddn Göteborgs Mus., zool. Avd., 121: 3-95, 6 pl.).

Zugmayer, E. 1911a. Diagnoses de Poissons nouveaux provenant des campagnes du Yacht 'Princesse Alice' (1901-1910). Bull. Inst. océanogr., Monaco, (193): 1-14.

Zugmayer, E. 1911b. Poissons provenant des campagnes du Yacht 'Princesse Alice'. Résult. Camp. scient. Prince Albert 1, 35: 174 p., 6 pl.

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