Polyipnus unispinus Schultz, 1938

Family:  Sternoptychidae (Marine hatchetfishes), subfamily: Sternoptychinae
Max. size:  3.52 cm SL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  benthopelagic; marine; depth range 50 - 500 m
Distribution:  Western Pacific: Java Trench, Timor, Halmahera, Sulu and Celebes seas, New Britain Trench (off the Solomon Islands), south-eastward to New Caledonia and with a few captures to the north of New Zealand. Has not been collected in the South China Sea (Ref. 26382).
Diagnosis:   
Biology: 
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 18 July 2019 Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless
Country info:  Formerly known from the Sulu Sea. Collected during the Hearst Expedition 2011 done off Batangas and Mindoro, off SW Luzon, and if the identification is correct, the first record for the South China Sea area (Ref. 95664); although it has been reported from Lagonoy Gulf in Ref. 280.


Source and more info: www.fishbase.org. For personal, classroom, and other internal use only. Not for publication.