Alepisaurus ferox  Lowe, 1833

Long snouted lancetfish
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Alepisaurus ferox   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Alepisaurus ferox (Long snouted lancetfish)
Alepisaurus ferox
Picture by Chow, S.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Aulopiformes (Grinners) > Alepisauridae (Lancetfishes)
Etymology: Alepisaurus: Greek, alepis, -idos = without scales + Greek, sauros = lizard (Ref. 45335);  ferox: The specific name is derived from ferox, meaning ferocious (Ref. 6885).   More on author: Lowe.

Environment / Climate / Range Ecology

Marine; bathypelagic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51887); depth range 0 - 1830 m (Ref. 50550).   Deep-water; 84°N - 57°S, 180°W - 180°E

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 215 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7251); common length : 150 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5217); max. published weight: 9.0 kg (Ref. 42154)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 30-45; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 13 - 18; Vertebrae: 47 - 52. Mouth large with two erect fangs on palatines. Dorsal fin very high, about three rays beginning with third or fourth much exerted; adipose moderate in size, over posterior part of anal insertion (Ref. 6885). Generally pale, iridescent, darker dorsally; lateral adipose keel dark; all fins dark brown or black; peritoneum black (Ref. 6885). Branchiostegal rays: 7-8 (Ref. 36025).

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions | Faunafri

Circumglobal: Western Pacific (Ref. 6885, 7300); Eastern Pacific: from the Aleutian Islands to Chile, also (Ref. 2850); Western Atlantic: Gulf of Maine to the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, also (Ref. 7251); Eastern Atlantic (Ref. 4059). Indian Ocean (Ref. 57630). Northwest Atlantic: Canada (Ref. 5951). South China Sea and East China Sea (Ref.74511).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Mainly inhabit tropical and subtropical waters; however, during the feeding period adults may migrate to the subarctic reaching as far north as Greenland, Iceland and the Bering Sea (Ref. 51887). Epipelagic- and mesopelagic, from near the surface to below 1,000 m, sometimes approaching inshore waters (Ref. 6011). Bathypelagic (Ref. 58302). Mainly nocturnal. Feed on fishes, cephalopods, tunicates, and crustaceans (Ref. 6011). Preyed upon by opah, sharks, albacore, yellowfin tuna, and fur seals (Ref. 6885). Oviparous, with planktonic larvae (Ref. 36025). Are synchronous hermaphrodites (Ref. 84733). Occasionally consumed but of little importance due to its soft flesh (Ref. 5217). The maximum weight given is for a 167 cm FL specimen (Ref. 42154).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Thompson, Bruce | Collaborators

Post, A., 1984. Alepisauridae. p. 494-495. In P.J.P. Whitehead, M.-L. Bauchot, J.-C. Hureau, J. Nielsen and E. Tortonese (eds.) Fishes of the north-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 1.

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 90363)

  Least Concern (LC) 

Threat to humans

  Harmless




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BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | DiscoverLife | Faunafri | Fishtrace | GenBank(genome, nucleotide) | GOBASE | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | iSpecies | National databases | PubMed | Scirus | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | uBio | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates of some properties based on empirical models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805):  PD50 = 1.0000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00000 (0.00000 - 0.00000), b=0.00 (0.00 - 0.00), based on (Ref. 93245).
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278):  4.1   ±0.7 se; Based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 69278):  Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years ().
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Very high vulnerability (83 of 100) .
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.