Eyebrow Bigscale, Melamphaes contradictorius Kotlyar 2015


Eyebrow Bigscale, Melamphaes contradictorius. Source: Australian National Fish Collection, CSIRO. License: CC BY Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike

Summary:
In Australia, this species was previously known as Melamphaes longivelis. The species is known only from five type specimens collected west of Norfolk Island in 1975.

Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2023, Melamphaes contradictorius in Fishes of Australia, accessed 29 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/5261

Eyebrow Bigscale, Melamphaes contradictorius Kotlyar 2015

More Info


Distribution

Tasman Sea, WSW of Norfolk Island in Australia's EEZ (29°41′ S, 164°39′ E); also off Fiji.

Features

Dorsal fin III, 15; Anal fin I, 8; Pectoral fin 15; Pelvic fin I, 7; Gill rakers (total first arch) 18; Vertebrae 13 + 15-16 = 28-29.
Eye diameter greater than width of suborbital bone; depth of caudal peduncle more than twice in its length; haemal arch of first caudal vertebra without spurs; pelvic fin usually beyond vertical of posterior margin of pectoral-fin insertion; anal fin origin beyond vertical of last dorsal-fin ray.

Remarks

Kotlyar (2015) regarded Melamphaes longivelis as being restricted in distribution to the Atlantic Ocean He indicated that  material from SE Australia (identified as M. lomgivelis) is most likely M. contradictorius, but noted that Australian material needed to be restudied.

Similar Species

M. contradictorius differs from all species of the M. longivelis complex by minimal body depth—20.8–23.6% SL (24.4–29.2% SL in M. longivelis, 24.0–28.2% SL in M. inconspicuus, 26.3% SL in M. kobylyanskyi, 22.5%–28.8% SL in M. proximus) and, on average, by minimal number of filaments of pseudobranchials.

Etymology

The specific name is from the Latin contradictorius (= contradictory), in reference to the close relationship of characters of this species to other species of the Melamphaes longivelis complex.

Species Citation

Melamphaes contradictorius Kotlyar 2015, Voprosy Ikhtiologii 55(5): 515, Fig. 3. Type locality: Southwestern Pacific Ocean, 29°41′ S, 164°39′ E, trawl depth 200 m [west of Norfolk Island, AUS EEZ].

Author

Bray, D.J. 2023

Resources

Atlas of Living Australia

Eyebrow Bigscale, Melamphaes contradictorius Kotlyar 2015

References


Kotlyar, A.N. 2015. Revision of the genus Melamphaes (Melamphaidae). 3. Oligo-raker species: M. proximus sp. n., M. contradictorius sp. n., and M. succedanaus sp. n. Voprosy Ikhtiologii 55(5): 509-520.

Kotlyar, A.N. 2015. Revision of the genus Melamphaes (Melamphaidae). 3. Oligo-raker species: M. proximus sp. n., M. contradictorius sp. n., and M. succedanaus sp. n. Journal of Ichthyology 55(5): 619-629. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0032945215050082

Moore, J. 2020. Melamphaes contradictorius. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: e.T137569340A137570789. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T137569340A137570789.en. Accessed on 08 June 2022.

Paxton, J.R., Hoese, D.F., Allen, G.R. & Hanley, J.E. (eds) 1989. Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Pisces: Petromyzontidae to Carangidae. Canberra : Australian Government Publishing Service Vol. 7 665 pp. (as Melamphaes longivelis)

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37251002

Conservation:IUCN Data Deficient

Depth:500-2000 m

Habitat:Mesopelagic

Max Size:3.1 cm SL

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CAAB distribution map