Teleostei (teleosts) >
Argentiniformes (Marine smelts) >
Bathylagidae (Deep-sea smelts)
Etymology: Bathylagichthys: Greek, bathys = deep + Greek, lagos = hare + Greek, ichthys = fish (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Cohen.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; bathypelagic; depth range 25 - 1000 m (Ref. 33679). Deep-water; 32°N - 48°S
Eastern Atlantic: Spain to Western Sahara. Western Atlantic: Bermuda. Northwest Atlantic: Canada (Ref. 5951). Southwest Pacific: New Zealand (Ref. 5755).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 16.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4459)
Dorsal soft rays (total): 13 - 14; Anal soft rays: 11 - 12; Vertebrae: 44. Pale, straw-colored ground color. Opercle and snout dusky. Dark pigment distributed on margins of scale pockets (Ref. 37473). Slender body, smoothly narrowed toward the end of caudal peduncle. Maximum depth at the level of the pectoral fin base for 39-69 mm specimens and immediately before the dorsal fin origin for larger ones. Pectoral fins short, not reaching origin of dorsal fin. Operculum without radial grooves. No gill rakers at the inner surface of epibranchial of first gill arch. Swim bladder absent (Ref. 33679).
Usually caught in small aggregations, at 600-900 m in the daytime and 25-500 m at night (Ref. 6345). Feeds on plankton (Ref. 6345).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae
Cohen, D.M., 1990. Bathylagidae. p. 239-240. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 1. (Ref. 4459)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)
Threat to humans
Harmless
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Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 8.5 - 17.3, mean 13.1 °C (based on 97 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5312 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00513 (0.00205 - 0.01282), b=3.00 (2.79 - 3.21), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.4 ±0.45 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).