Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) >
Stomiiformes (Lightfishes and dragonfishes) >
Stomiidae (Barbeled dragonfishes) > Astronesthinae
Etymology: Astronesthes: Greek, astra = ray + Greek, esthes, -es = suit, something used to wrap (Ref. 45335).
Environment / Climate / Range
Ecology
Marine; bathypelagic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 275 - 1000 m (Ref. 58426). Deep-water; 20°N - 26°S
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 15.9 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4465)
Dorsal
soft rays
(total): 15-17;
Anal
soft rays: 12 - 15. Barbel without pigment, tapering to end, lacking swelling or bulb (Ref. 37473). Body moderately elongate and slender. Maxillary teeth closely spaced. Serial photophores not broken into small groups. Luminous patches present on margin of operculum. Black in color (Ref. 37039).
Eastern Atlantic: Mauritania south to Angola; reported from central Namibia (Ref. 27121). Western Atlantic: Gulf of Mexico and Bahamas area; and across the Atlantic (20°N-10°S). One specimen known from the southwest Atlantic (25°27'S, 35°56'W).
Oceanic, usually living deeper than 500 m during the day. Smaller individuals migrate to the surface at night. Possibly feeding on crustaceans and fishes (Ref. 58426). Minimum depth from Ref. 58018.
Gibbs, R.H. Jr., 1990. Astronesthidae. p. 300-307. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 1.
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 90363)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Estimates of some properties based on empirical models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82805): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00211 (-0.18000 - 0.18421), b=3.16 (3.06 - 3.26), based on LWR estimates for this family-BS (Ref.
93245).
Trophic Level (Ref.
69278): 3.9 ±0.64 se; Based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
69278): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Assuming tmax>3).
Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low to moderate vulnerability (26 of 100) .