Dana Pearleye, Scopelarchoides danae Johnson 1974
Illustration of the holotype of the Dana Pearleye, Scopelarchoides danae (SIO70-341), from the South China Sea. Source: After Fig. 39A, in Johnson (1974) Fieldiana Zoology 66: 125 / Biodiversity Heritage Library. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
Summary:
A pearleye with heavy dermal pigment forming a dark stripe just below the lateral line that extends onto the lower lobe of the caudal fin, and a dark bar on the caudal peduncle. The pectoral, pelvic, anal and adipose fins lack pigment.
Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2025, Scopelarchoides danae in Fishes of Australia, accessed 14 Jul 2026, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/3320
Dana Pearleye, Scopelarchoides danae Johnson 1974
More Info
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Distribution |
Off Dirk Hartog Island, Western Australia, and east of Moreton Bay, Queensland, to south of Sydney, New South Wales. Elsewhere the species occurs in the Atlantic and Indo-west-central Pacific, usually near insular and continental land masses. Adult usually found between 500-1,000 m, while larvae are almost always taken from depths of zero to 200 m. |
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Features |
Dorsal fin 6-9; Anal fin 24-27; Pectoral fin 20-22; Pelvic fin 9; Lateral-line scales 50-52; Vertebrae 48-50. Pelvic fins distinctly longer than pectoral fins, pelvic-fin origin below anterior one-third of dorsal-fin base; anal-fin origin well behind midbody. |
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Colour |
Dermal pigmentation on body essentially confined to a marked stripe bordering ventral margin of lateral line from over pelvic base to caudal peduncle, increasing slightly in depth from anterior to posterior and essentially covering posterior portion of peduncle. Dermal pigment absent or very weakly developed dorsal to lateral line except on caudal peduncle. Scale pockets edged with pigment only dorsal to lateral line. Scaly flaps of skin overlying bases of caudal rays well-pigmented. Pigment lacking on pectoral, pelvic, anal, and adipose fins. Pigment weakly developed at bases and part of length of first four or five dorsal rays. Pigment strikingly well developed along entire ventral lobe of caudal fin, but lacking or much less well-developed on dorsal lobe of caudal fin (Johnson 1974). |
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Biology |
A simultaneous (synchronous) hermaphrodite, with individuals having functional male and female reproductive tissue. |
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Similar Species |
Scopelarchoides kreffti differs from the Dana Pearleye, in having the pelvic-fin origin anterior to a vertical through the first dorsal-fin origin (vs. posterior to it), 23–25 pectoral-fin rays (vs. 20–22), 58 or 59 lateral-line scales (vs. 50–52), 0–3 teeth on the basibranchial (vs. 6–11), and pigment stripes along the lateral line (vs. stripes absent or poorly developed). |
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Etymology |
The species is named in honour of the Danish fishery research vessel Dana - “used during the major expeditions of the Carlsberg Foundation, her scientific parties and crews, and the continuing work of the Carlsberg Foundation that has so greatly enhanced our knowledge of the deepsea fauna”. |
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Species Citation |
Scopelarchoides danae Johnson 1974, Copeia 1974(2): 453. Type locality: South China Sea, 18°14.4'-18°05.5'N, 119°45.2'-119°24.8'E, depth 0-1850 m. |
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Author |
Bray, D.J. 2025 |
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Resources |
Dana Pearleye, Scopelarchoides danae Johnson 1974
References
Bannermann, P., Nunoo, F., Poss, S. & Russell, B. 2015. Scopelarchoides danae. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T20662028A20683413. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T20662028A20683413.en. Accessed on 18 August 2025.
Johnson, R.K. 1974. Five new species and a new genus of alepisauroid fishes of the Scopelarchidae (Pisces : Myctophiformes). Copeia 1974(2): 449-457
Johnson, R.K. 1974. A revision of the alepisauroid family Scopelarchidae (Pisces : Myctophiformes). Fieldiana Zoology 66: 1-249 https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/78659
Johnson, R.K. 1982. Fishes of the families Evermannellidae and Scopelarchidae: systematics, morphology, interrelationships and zoogeography. Fieldiana Zoology ns 12: 1-252 figs 1-74 https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.5137
Stewart, A.L. 2015. Family Scopelarchidae. pp. 566-574 in Roberts, C.D., Stewart, A.L. & Struthers, C.D. The Fishes of New Zealand. Wellington : Te Papa Press Vol. 2 pp. 1-576.
