Spiny Sucker Eel, Lipogenys gillii Goode & Bean 1895
Spiny Sucker Eel, Lipogenys gillii. Source: Australian National Fish Collection, CSIRO. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial
Summary:
A pale brown deep-sea spiny eel with a dark brown lining to the gill chamber and to the rim of opercular branchiostegal flap, and a light yellowish-tan lining of the mouth and buccal cavity.
Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2022, Lipogenys gillii in Fishes of Australia, accessed 25 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/3008
Spiny Sucker Eel, Lipogenys gillii Goode & Bean 1895
More Info
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Distribution |
Off Nobbys Head, New South Wales, south to the Pedra Branca Seamount area, south of Tasmania. Elsewhere, the species occurs off Japan, the Hawaiian Islands, the Atlantic, and southwestern Pacific. |
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Features |
Dorsal fin VI-VIII, 4-5; Anal fin spines 44-58, soft rays 67-88; Vertebrae 228-234. Tail slender and tapering to a point. Mouth inferior, small and sucker-like; upper lip with thick, pleated folds; posterior end of maxilla bent sharply downward, forming a flap-like structure; fleshy papillae on snout bordering upper lip. Teeth absent. Dorsal fin short-based, located above anus, the first 4-6 rays hard and spinous, increasing in length from front to back, the remainder soft and segmented, membrane connecting all rays except for first I-III spines. Anal fin long, extending from just behind anus to tip of tail, anterior rays spinous, posterior rays segmented, the transition gradual. Caudal fin absent. |
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Feeding |
Reportedly feeds mostly on organic material contained in bottom sediment drawn up by the sucker-like mouth [RF doubts this is a detritus feeder; the elaborate mouth without teeth looks like a specialization for extracting soft-bodied benthic invertebrates out of the ground; also, there are no gill rakers to filter detritus (Ref. 50674)]. No obvious sexual dimorphism; a female of 37.5 cm SL was still immature |
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Etymology |
The species is named in honour of Theodore Gill, who first named the genus Lipogenys in an unpublished manuscript. |
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Species Citation |
Lipogenys gillii Goode & Bean 1895, Proc. U. S. Natl Mus. 17(1013): 469, pl. 18(fig. 3). Type locality: Western Atlantic, 37°46'30"N, 73°56'30"W, Albatross station 2742, depth 865 fathoms. |
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Author |
Bray, D.J. 2022 |
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Resources |
Spiny Sucker Eel, Lipogenys gillii Goode & Bean 1895
References
Goode, G.B. & Bean, T.H. 1895. A revision of the order Heteromi, deep-sea fishes, with a description of the new generic types Macdonaldia and Lipogenys. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 17(1013): 455-470. See ref at BHL
Haedrich, R.L. & Merrett, N.R. 1988. Summary atlas of deep-living demersal fishes in the North Atlantic Basin. Journal of Natural History 22: 1325-1362.
McDowell, S.B. 1973. Order Heteromi (Notacanthiformes) in Fishes of the Western North Atlantic. Memoirs of the Sears Foundation of Marine Research No. 1 (pt 6): 1-228.
Nakabo, T. (ed.) 2002. Fishes of Japan with pictorial keys to the species. English edition.. Tokyo : Toikai University Press Vol. 1 pp.1-866.
Smith, D.G. 1999. Families Halosauridae, Notacanthidae, Lipogenyidae, Anguillidae, Moringuidae, Chlopsidae, Myrocongridae. pp. 1625-1642 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 pp. 1397-2068.
Stewart, A.L. & Struthers, C.D. 2015. 36 Family Notacanthidae. pp. 210-217 in Roberts, C.D., Stewart, A.L. & Struthers, C.D. The Fishes of New Zealand. Wellington : Te Papa Press Vol. 2 pp. 1-576.
Templeman, W. 1973. Description and distribution of new specimens of the fish Lipogenys gilli from Western North Atlantic. Journal of the Canadian Fisheries Research Board 30(10): 1559-1564.
