| Family: |
Macrouridae (Grenadiers or rattails) |
| Max. size: |
50 cm TL (male/unsexed) |
| Environment: |
bathydemersal; marine; depth range 400 - 2220 m, non-migratory |
| Distribution: |
Atlantic: Western Central Atlantic: Florida Straits to northeastern South America. One record from Bermuda. Eastern Atlantic: Faroe Channel to Cape Verde (Ref. 3587); southern Africa. |
| Diagnosis: |
Dorsal spines (total): 2-2; Anal spines: 0-0. Snout long and sharply pointed, its anterolateral margin almost completely supported by bone; head ridges strong and coarsely spined; the dorsal surfaces of the head completely scaled except for the nasal fossa, scales atop head with spinules set in divergent rows; the underside of the head naked except for small isolated scales above the angle of the mouth and below the end of the opercle ridge in some specimens; swarthy to brownish, ventrally darker on the belly, with no prominent markings; the mouth and gill cavities blackish; the first dorsal fin uniformly dusky (Ref. 1371). |
| Biology: |
Size may exceed 50 cm TL. Feeds primarily on small fish (myctophids), polychaete worms and crustaceans (pagurids, crabs, shrimps, ostracods, and copepods (Ref. 6187). |
| IUCN Red List Status: |
Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 04 February 2009 Ref. (130435)
|
| Threat to humans: |
harmless |
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