Teleostei (teleosts) >
Aulopiformes (Grinners) >
Notosudidae (Waryfishes)
Etymology: Scopelosaurus: Greek, skopelos = a lantern fish + Greek, sauros = lizard (Ref. 45335).
Eponymy: Harold Hamilton (1885–1937) was a biologist who graduated from Otago University, New Zealand. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
More on author: Waite.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; benthopelagic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range ? - 1000 m (Ref. 6602). Temperate; 30°S - 61°S
Atlantic, Indian and Pacific: in sub-Antarctic areas. Not known from the Southeast Pacific.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 50.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 6602)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10 - 13; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 18 - 21. Dark brownish to blackish in color; paler below with no silvery scales; when specimen is without scales, an indistinct blackish anal spot of the peritoneum showing through the skin may be observed (Ref. 6602).
Body shape (shape guide): elongated.
Larvae and juveniles pseudoceanic in midwater; adults taken by both bottom and pelagic trawls in about 600-800 m. Sub-adults and adults migrate to the Southern Ocean (to 60°S) to feed; on euphausiids, hyperiids, and other crustaceans as well as on small fishes, like myctophids; juveniles take small zooplankton, especially copepods.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Krefft, G., 1990. Notosudidae. p. 136-137. In O. Gon and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Fishes of the Southern Ocean. J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology, Grahamstown, South Africa. (Ref. 5175)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: of no interest
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