| Family: |
Macrouridae (Grenadiers or rattails) |
| Max. size: |
60 cm TL (male/unsexed) |
| Environment: |
bathydemersal; marine; depth range 200 - 1000 m, non-migratory |
| Distribution: |
Atlantic, Indian and Pacific: Western Atlantic: Strait of Florida to Brazil, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. Eastern Atlantic: Iceland (Ref. 12462) and Faroes to South Africa. Indian Ocean: Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, off Maldives and off East African coast. Western Pacific: Indonesian area and Australia. Eastern Central Pacific (Ref. 9315). Malacocephalus hawaiiensis, Malacocephalus luzonensis, and Malacocephalus nipponensis are closely related to Malacocephalus laevis and may eventually prove to represent populations of this species, if a comprehensive comparison of material from the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans is done (Ref. 1371). |
| Diagnosis: |
Dorsal spines (total): 2-2; Dorsal soft rays (total): 229; Anal spines: 0-0. Head uniformly scaled, including the mandibles and the ventral aspects of the snout and suborbital. Snout blunt, its tip with a conical tubercle. The trunk is short, the body tapers abruptly from behind the first dorsal fin. The caudal fin is absent. |
| Biology: |
Found on continental slopes (Ref. 1371). Utilized mainly for fishmeal and oil (Ref. 1371). In the past, fishers in the North Atlantic were reported to have used the luminescent excretion from the ventral light organ to enhance baits used for cod fishing (Ref. 1371). |
| IUCN Red List Status: |
Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 11 July 2012 Ref. (130435)
|
| Threat to humans: |
harmless |
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