Softskin smooth-head
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Alepocephaliformes
Family: Alepocephalidae
Genus: Rouleina
Species:
R. attrita
Binomial name
Rouleina attrita
(Vaillant, 1888)
Synonyms[2]
  • Bathytroctes aequatoris Goode & Bean, 1896
  • Bathytroctes attritus Vaillant, 1888
  • Bathytroctes mollis Köhler, 1896
  • Caudania mollis Köhler, 1896
  • Rouleina attritus Vaillant, 1888
  • Rouleina mollis Köhler, 1896
  • Talismania mollis Köhler, 1896

The softskin smooth-head (Rouleina attrita), also called the softskin slickhead, is a species of fish in the family Alepocephalidae.[3][4]

Its specific name is from the Latin attrīta ("bruised, worn away"), presumably referring to the mutilated or decomposed state of the type specimens.[5]

Description

The softskin smooth-head is black, measuring up to 42 cm (17 in).[6] Its upper jaw reaches to behind the eye, and it has a lateral line of 43–48 photophores.[7] It has 43–46 vertebrae.[8] Its scales are deciduous and its skin contains small fluid-filled compartments.[9] Its eyes contain convexiclivate temporal foveae containing densely packed ganglia.[10]

Habitat

The softskin smooth-head is engybenthic or bathypelagic, meaning that it swims near the seafloor, living at depths of 450–2,300 m (1,480–7,550 ft). It has been recorded in all non-polar seas.[11][12]

Behaviour

Its testes are ribbon-like, in convoluted folds but never in discrete lobes. Its eggs are large, up to 3.2 mm (0.13 in) in diameter.[13]

References

  1. Museum), Percy (Butch) Hulley (South Africa (July 11, 2012). "IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Rouleina attrita". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species via www.iucnredlist.org.
  2. "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Rouleina attrita (Vaillant, 1888)". www.marinespecies.org.
  3. "Rouleina attrita". fishesofaustralia.net.au.
  4. Collin, Shaun P.; Marshall, N. Justin (April 8, 2008). Sensory Processing in Aquatic Environments. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 9780387226286 via Google Books.
  5. "Order ALEPOCEPHALIFORMES (Slickheads)". December 29, 2016.
  6. Smith, Margaret M.; Heemstra, Phillip C. (December 6, 2012). Smiths' Sea Fishes. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 9783642828584 via Google Books.
  7. Nations, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United (August 1, 2020). Identification guide to the mesopelagic fishes of the central and south east Atlantic Ocean. Food & Agriculture Org. ISBN 9789251330944 via Google Books.
  8. "Fishery Bulletin". National Marine Fisheries Service. October 9, 1978 via Google Books.
  9. McEachran, John; Fechhelm, Janice D. (June 17, 2013). Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico, Vol. 1: Myxiniformes to Gasterosteiformes. University of Texas Press. ISBN 9780292757059 via Google Books.
  10. Cronin, Thomas W.; Johnsen, Sönke; Marshall, N. Justin; Warrant, Eric J. (August 10, 2014). Visual Ecology. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691151847 via Google Books.
  11. "Sport Fishery Abstracts". Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. October 9, 1978 via Google Books.
  12. "Rouleina attrita, Softskin smooth-head". www.fishbase.se.
  13. "Marine Species Identification Portal : Softskin smooth-head - Rouleina attrita". species-identification.org.
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