Sigmops gracilis (Günther, 1878)
Slender fangjaw
photo by Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Canada

Family:  Gonostomatidae (Bristlemouths)
Max. size:  13.32 cm SL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  bathypelagic; marine; depth range 0 - 4389 m
Distribution:  Pacific Ocean: widely distributed in subarctic to subtropical waters, mainly west of 143°W and north of 15°N. Most abundant in the northwest Pacific between the southern Kuril Islands and Taiwan. South China Sea and East China Sea (Ref.74511).
Diagnosis:  Dorsal spines (total): 0-0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10-14; Anal spines: 0-0; Anal soft rays: 26-30; Vertebrae: 40-42. A row of 6 widely separated photophores near dorsal profile of body; OA irregularly arranged; dorsal origin above 4th to 5th anal ray (Ref. 559).
Biology:  Mesopelagic, nonmigratory at 200-1000 m (Ref. 58302). Migrates towards surface at night (Ref. 43939). Larvae and juveniles in upper 200 m (Ref. 43939). Minimum depth from Ref. 43939.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 15 July 2019 Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless
Country info:   
 


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