Teleostei (teleosts) >
Stomiiformes (Lightfishes and dragonfishes) >
Stomiidae (Barbeled dragonfishes) > Melanostomiinae
Etymology: Melanostomias: Greek, melan, -anos = black + Greek, stoma = mouth (Ref. 45335).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; bathypelagic; depth range 350 - 1024 m (Ref. 58302). Deep-water; 36°N - 49°S, 98°W - 154°W
Atlantic Ocean: northern Atlantic between 35°N-8°N (not occurring in the southern Sargasso Sea), Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea; southwestern Atlantic between 10°S and 30°S. Also known from the Indian and Pacific oceans.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 26.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 37039)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal soft rays (total): 13; Anal soft rays: 15. Body elongate and moderately slender. Short, blunt, non protrusible snout. Barbel has slender stem, flattened narrow distal tip. Black in color. Stem of barbel unpigmented except for the base, tip of barbel unpigmented or has irregular dark patches (Ref. 37039).
Mesopelagic (Ref. 58302).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae
Gibbs, R.H. and M.A. Barnett, 1990. Melanostomiidae. p. 308-337. 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. 4468)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 6.8 - 11.9, mean 8.7 °C (based on 525 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00302 (0.00117 - 0.00783), b=3.12 (2.89 - 3.35), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 4.2 ±0.73 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 (22 of 100).