Pricklefish

Stephanoberyx monae

Thorn fish ( Stephanoberycidae ) live in the deep sea of the tropical and subtropical Atlantic and Pacific. In South Africa they also go to the Indian Ocean. They live at depths of 1,000 to 5,000 meters.

Features

The scales of only 8 to 16 centimeters long fish have thorn-like excrescences. The lateral line organ is poorly developed. Dorsal and anal fins each have 10 to 14 soft rays. Hard jets, if present, only weakly developed.

Species

There are only four species in four monotypic genera, which are known to only caught a few copies.

  • Genus Abyssoberyx Abyssoberyx levisquamosus Merrett & Moore, 2005
  • Acanthochaenus luetkenii Gill, 1884
  • Malacosarcus macrostoma ( Günther, 1878).
  • Stephanoberyx monae Gill, 1883
Taxonomic rank#All ranks Acanthomorpha Fish fin Joseph S. Nelson FishBase
291740
de