Kaiyomaru Whiptail, Coelorinchus kaiyomaru Arai & Iwamoto 1979

Circumglobal in temperate waters of the Southern Hemisphere, but unknown from South Africa; known from off New Zealand, southern Australia, the Falkland Islands and the southeastern Atlantic Ocean; demersal at depths between 600-1150 m, mostly between 900-1100 m.

D II, 7-10; P 17-21; V 7; GR 6-9; BR; PC 10-14.
Snout long, slender, sharply pointed, anterolateral margin incompletely supported by bone, area dorsally behind leading edge almost fully scaled; underside of head naked except along anterolateral margins and occasional scales over angle of jaws; nasal fossa naked; mouth relatively small, eye moderate much shorter than snout; gill membranes restricted; chin barbel short, thin. Body scales moderate, somewhat deciduous, those dorsally on trunk with 8-10 parallel to slightly divergent rows of small spinules. Fins generally small, long spinous second dorsal-fin ray extending beyond adjacent segmented rays; second dorsal-fin rays relatively well developed, of similar length to opposing anal-fin rays. Anus before anal-fin origin by one or two scale rows; light organ small, externally visible as a small black naked area before anus.

Reaches a total length of 43 cm.

Overall greyish to pink, bluish over opercle; anterior part of trunk blue/black; mouth, gill cavity and orbital margin blackish, lips and barbel pale; fins dusky to blackish.

Carnivorous on invertebrates such as decapod crustaceans, gastropod molluscs and polychaete worms.

The Kaiyomaru Whiptail is occasionally caught as bycatch in fisheries, but is of no commercial importance.

Not assessed.

Coelorinchus kaiyomaru Arai & Iwamoto, 1979, Jpn. J. Ichthyol. 26(3): 238, fig.1, the Chatham Rise slope off New Zealand.

Bray, D.J. & G. Frankham