Bathysaurus ferox, Deep-sea lizardfish : fisheries

Bathysaurus ferox Günther, 1878

Deep-sea lizardfish
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Bathysaurus ferox   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Bathysaurus ferox (Deep-sea lizardfish)
Bathysaurus ferox
Picture by Garazo Fabregat, A.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Aulopiformes (Grinners) > Bathysauridae (Deepsea lizardfishes)
Etymology: Bathysaurus: Greek, bathys = deep + Greek, sauros = lizard (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Günther.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; bathydemersal; depth range 600 - 3500 m (Ref. 4472), usually 1000 - 2500 m (Ref. 5951). Deep-water; 70°N - 50°S, 180°W - 180°E

Distribution Territories | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Eastern Atlantic: northern British Isles to Guinea; also off South Africa. Reported from Iceland (Ref. 12462). Western Atlantic: Davis Strait to Rio Grande Rise, Brazil. Southwest Pacific: New Zealand and Australia (Ref. 7300). Southeast Pacific: Nazca and Sala-y-Gomez (Ref. 50546). Macristium chavesi (pelagic larvae) known from Dominican Republic, Bay of Biscay, Azores, and in the Indian Ocean.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 64.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4472)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 17; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 11 - 13. Body deepest ahead of dorsal fin. Head depressed and bony, mouth large, teeth conical, recurved and mostly depressible (Ref. 39983). Preserved specimens, dark ventrally (Ref. 11228).
Body shape (shape guide): elongated.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Usually occurs below the 4°C isotherm. Rests stationary on the bottom with head slightly elevated in typical lizardfish fashion. Feeds primarily on fish and decapods (Ref. 4964). Synchronously hermaphroditic. Minimum depth reported from Ref. 5755.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Also Ref. 103751.

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Sulak, K.J., 1990. Synodontidae. p. 365-370. 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. (Ref. 4472)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 10 July 2014

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | National databases | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search |