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Notacanthiformes (Halosaurs and deep-sea spiny eels) >
Notacanthidae (Deep-sea spiny eels)
Etymology: Polyacanthonotus: Greek, poly = a lot of + Greek, akantha = thorn + Greek,noton = back (Ref. 45335).
Eponymy: Professor Giovanni Antonio Risso (1777–1845) (aka Joseph Antoine Risso) was an Italian-French naturalist and the first to describe deep-sea fishes as distinctive fauna and describe depth zonation with different species living in discrete depth [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; bathydemersal; depth range 500 - 2875 m (Ref. 6594), usually 540 - 2875 m (Ref. 117245). Deep-water; 3°C - 11°C (Ref. 117245); 74°N - 35°S, 76°W - 36°E
Eastern Atlantic: Baffin Bay-Davis Strait Offshore, Ireland to South Africa, including the Mediterranean Sea. Reported from Iceland (Ref. 12462). Western Atlantic: Davis Strait to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina in the USA.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 9.5 cm ot male/unsexed; (Ref. 6594)
Dorsal spines (total): 26 - 36; Dorsal soft rays (total): 0. Same body coloration as P. africanus but lateral line lighter and less distinct (Ref. 6584). Maxilla fails to extend back to the posterior of nostril. Small mouth, short preoral snout. Light tan with black tips (Ref. 37108).
Body shape (shape guide): eel-like.
Maximum depth from Ref. 117245. Epibenthic and feeds on coelenterates, worms and crustaceans (Ref. 58426).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Sulak, K.J., 1986. Notacanthidae. p. 195-196. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. (Ref. 6594)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: of no interest
Tools
Special reports
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 3.3 - 13, mean 4.6 °C (based on 398 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5625 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00102 (0.00046 - 0.00225), b=3.06 (2.88 - 3.24), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.5 ±0.42 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Moderate vulnerability (36 of 100).
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Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 29.5 [6.8, 122.8] mg/100g; Iron = 0.473 [0.154, 1.263] mg/100g; Protein = 1.43 [0.00, 5.32] %; Omega3 = 0.391 [0.142, 1.126] g/100g; Selenium = 10.3 [3.2, 43.0] μg/100g; VitaminA = 40.3 [6.9, 239.0] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.692 [0.342, 1.504] mg/100g (wet weight);
