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| Deepwater arrowtooth eel | ||||||||||||||
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 From plate 44 of Oceanic Ichthyology by G. Brown Goode and Tarleton H. Bean, published 1896.
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| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
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| Binomial name | ||||||||||||||
| Histiobranchus bathybius (Günther, 1877) |
The deepwater arrowtooth eel, Histiobranchus bathybius, is a cutthroat eel of the genus Histiobranchus, found around the world at depths of between 2,000 and 3,000 m. Its length is between 40 and 90 cm.
The deepwater arrowtooth eel has a typical eel shape but with a long pointed snout, and a dorsal fin which starts above the pectoral fin and an anal fin beginning about halfway along the body. There are many rows of small teeth in the jaws and on the roof of the large mouth. The gill apertures are horizontal and almost meet beneath the throat, hence the name cutthroat eel.
The scale arrangement is typical of the family and is similar to the basketwork eel. The colour varies from a uniform dark grey to completely black.
Little else is known about this fish due to the extreme depth in which it lives.
References
- Histiobranchus bathybius (TSN 161589). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved on 19 March 2006.
- "Histiobranchus bathybius". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. January 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.
- Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand, (William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1982) ISBN 0-00-216987-8
