Beaked Slickhead, Mirognathus normani Parr 1951
Other Names: Norman's Smooth-head

Beaked Slickhead, Mirognathus normani. Source: NORFANZ Founding Parties. License: All rights reserved
Summary:
A slender dark greyish to black slickhead becoming a paler brownish behind the origin of the pelvic fins.
Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2017, Mirognathus normani in Fishes of Australia, accessed 16 Feb 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/3593
Beaked Slickhead, Mirognathus normani Parr 1951
More Info
Distribution |
Cascade Plateau off eastern Tasmania. Elsewhere the species occurs in the Atlantic and south-west Pacific oceans. |
Features |
Dorsal fin 18-22; Anal fin 18-20; Pectoral fin 10; Pelvic fin 5-6; Gill rakers 7 + 21- 23; Vertebrae 45-48. Head and body completely naked; dorsal and anal fins subequal in size and almost opposite; pectoral fins rudimentary or (usually) absent; no teeth in jaws, bones of the mouth roof, and gill-arches; gill-rakers smooth, lacking denticles. Small light organ present at mouth tip, comprised of transparent areas near symphysis of dentaries and tip of snout. |
Colour |
Head dark with light bluish tinge; anterior tips of snout and lower jaw, skin around olfactory capsule whitish; oral cavity membrane black, branchial cavity dark brown, gill-arches and filaments grey. Body forward of pelvic-fin bases dark grey, slightly lighter on belly; posterior half of body paler brown with scattered tiny black spots. Fins with transparent unpigmented membranes between fin-rays; pigment cells concentrated along rays, fainter near base and along distal margins. Anus surrounded by narrow ring of black skin. |
Species Citation |
Mirognathus normani Parr 1951, American Museum Novitates 1531: 4. Type locality: South Atlantic [48°26´S, 22°10´W], depth 1500-1600 m. |
Author |
Bray, D.J. 2017 |
Resources |
Beaked Slickhead, Mirognathus normani Parr 1951
References
Krefft, G. 1985: Alepocephalidae (Osteichthyes, Argentinoidei) dreierreisen der Fischereiforschungsschiffe "Anton Dohrn" und "Walter Herwig" in den Nordatlantik. Archiv fur Fischereiwissenschaft 36 (1/2): 213-233.
Markle, D.F. & Quéro, J.-C. 1984. Family Alepocephalidae. pp. 228-253, in Whitehead, P.J.P. et al. (eds). Fishes of the North-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Paris : UNESCO Vol. 1 510 pp. figs.
Markle, D.F. & Sazonov, Yu. I. 1990. Alepocephalidae (pp. 246-264). In: Quéro, J.-C., Hureau, J.-C., Karrer, C., Post, A. & Saldanha, L. (eds) 1990. Check-list of the Fishes of the Eastern Tropical Atlantic. Paris : UNESCO 1492 pp., 3 vols.
Parr, A.E. 1951. Preliminary revision of the Alepocephalidae, with the introduction of a new family, Searsidae. American Museum Novitates 1531: 1-21.
Poulsen, JY, PR Møller, S Lavoué, SW Knudsen, M Nishida, M Miya. 2009. Higher and lower-level relationships of the deep-sea fish order Alepocephaliformes ( Teleostei : Otocephala ) inferred from whole mitogenome sequences. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 98(4): 923-936 DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2009.01323.x PDF available open access
Sazonov, Y.I. & Last, P.R. 2000. Redescription of the rare slickhead Mirognathus normani (Salmoniformes: Alepocephalidae) with the first record from the western South Pacific. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 34(2): 385-389. PDF open access
Sazonov, Y.I. & Williams, A. 2001. A review of the alepocephalid fishes (Argentiniformes, Alepocephalidae) from the continental slope of Australia: Part I. Journal of Ichthyology 41(suppl. 1): 1-36.
Williams, A. & Stewart, A.L. 2015. Family Alepocephalidae. pp. 354-376 in Roberts, C.D., Stewart, A.L. & Struthers, C.D. The Fishes of New Zealand. Wellington : Te Papa Press Vol. 2 pp. 1-576.