Antipodean Slickhead, Alepocephalus antipodianus (Parrott 1948)

Other Names: Smallscale Slickhead, Smallscaled Brown Slickhead

Summary:

A large mid to dark brown slickhead, with a darker head, fins and scale pocket margins, and dark eyes.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2024, Alepocephalus antipodianus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 11 Sep 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/2133

Antipodean Slickhead, Alepocephalus antipodianus (Parrott 1948)

More Info

Distribution	Off Broken Bay, New South Wales, to west of Shark Bay, Western Australia, including off Tasmania; also the Lord Howe Plateau and the Norfolk Ridge in the Tasman Sea. Elsewhere, the species occurs worldwide in tropical to sub-Antarctic latitudes.
Features	Dorsal fin 17–18; Anal fin 19–20; Pectoral fin 8–10; Pelvic fin 7; Lateral line 55–73; Gill rakers 6–9 + 14–20 = 20–28; Vertebrae (preural) 51–57. Head rather wide and long, head length about 32% SL, snout length usually equal to or slightly shorter than eye diameter, rarely slightly longer; upper jaw to or beyond middle of eye; no white connective tissue along eye margin. Body covered in relatively small deciduous scales; head naked; scale rows before the dorsal and anal fins oblique, 8–12 scales above the lateral line and 9–14 scales below the lateral line. Light organs absent. Dorsal and anal fins of approx equal length, dorsal-fin origin on or close to a vertical line through anal-fin origin.
Size	To 66 cm SL.
Colour	Body brownish pink, yellowish where scales and skin have been removed; scale pockets dark, head black.
Biology	Almost nothing is known of the biology of this species.
Similar Species	The Smallscale Slickhead, Alepocephalus australis, differs in having larger scales (47-56 scales in longitudinal series along the lateral line).
Etymology	The specific name antipodianus refers to the type locality, New Zealand, as being in the Antipodes, essentially the other side of the world from Britain.
Species Citation	Bathytroctes antipodianus Parrott 1948, Records of the Canterbury Museum 5: 143, pl. 31. Type locality: Kaikoura, New Zealand.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2024
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Antipodean Slickhead, Alepocephalus antipodianus (Parrott 1948)

References

Sazonov, Y.I. & Ivanov, A.N. 1980. Slickheads (Alepocephalidae and Leptochilichthyidae) from thalassobathyal zone of the Indian Ocean. Trudy Instituta Okeanologii. Akademiya Nauk SSSR. Moskva 110: 7-104 figs 1-25 [in Russian]

Sazonov, Y.I. & Markle, D.F. 1999. Family Alepocephalidae. pp. 1888-1893 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, V.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 3 1397-2068 pp.

Williams, A., Last, P.R., Gomon, M.F. & Paxton, J.R. 1996. Species composition and checklist of the demersal ichthyofauna of the continental slope off Western Australia (20–35º). Records of the Western Australian Museum 18: 135-155 (as Alepocephalus cf productus)

Williams, A. & Sazonov, Y.I. 2008. Family Alepocephalidae and Platytroctidae. pp. 201-210 in Gomon. M.F., Bray, D.J. & Kuiter, R.H (eds). Fishes of Australia's Southern Coast. Sydney : Reed New Holland 928 pp.

Williams, A. & Stewart, A.L. 2015. 59 Family Alepocephalidae. pp. 354-376 in Roberts, C.D., Stewart, A.L. & & Struthers, C.D. (eds). The fishes of New Zealand 2: 1-574