Lowcrest Hatchetfish, Argyropelecus sladeni Regan 1908
Other Names: Sladen's Hatchet Fish
Lowcrest Hatchetfish, Argyropelecus sladeni. Source: Australian National Fish Collection, CSIRO. License: CC BY Attribution-Noncommercial
Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2025, Argyropelecus sladeni in Fishes of Australia, accessed 27 Jun 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/3941
Lowcrest Hatchetfish, Argyropelecus sladeni Regan 1908
More Info
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Distribution |
Off Geraldton to west of Exmouth, Western Australia, and off Cape York, Queensland, to off Lake Illawarra, New South Wales; also off Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean, and the Norfolk Ridge in the Tasman Sea. Elsewhere the species is circumglobal in tropical and temperate waters. Inhabits depths between 350-600 m during the day; vertically migrating at night, concentrating as depths between 100-375 m. |
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Features |
Dorsal fin 9, Anal fin 11-12; Pectoral fin 10-11; Pelvic fin 6; Branchiostegal rays 10; Vertebrae 35-38. No pair of enlarged canine teeth in lower jaw; postabdominal spines about equal in length, anteriormost spine squared or blunt, not curving evenly forward; upper preopercular spine extending well beyond the posterior edge of the preopercle. |
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Feeding |
Feeds on copepods. |
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Biology |
Oviparous, with planktonic eggs and larvae. |
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Etymology |
The species is named in honour of Percy Sladen and the Percy Sladen Trust, which funded the Percy Sladen Trust Expedition to the Indian Ocean that collected the type specimen. |
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Species Citation |
Argyropelecus sladeni Regan 1908, Transactions of the Linnean Society of London 2nd Series Zoology 12(3): 218. Type locality: Salomon Atoll, Chagos Archipelago, Indian Ocean [ca. 5°22'S 72°16'E], depth 400-500 fathoms. |
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Author |
Bray, D.J. 2025 |
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Resources |
Lowcrest Hatchetfish, Argyropelecus sladeni Regan 1908
References
Baird, R.C. 1971. The Systematics, Distribution, and Zoogeography of the Marine Hatchetfishes (Family Sternoptychidae). Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 142(1): 1-128.
Harold, A.S. 1993. Phylogenetic relationships of the sternoptychid Argyropelecus (Teleostei: Stomiiformes). Copeia 1993(1):123-133.
Harold, A.S. 1999. Families Gonostomatidae, Sternoptychidae, Phosichthyidae, Astronesthidae, Stomiidae, Chauliodontidae, Melanostomiidae, Idiacanthidae, Malacosteidae. pp. 1896-1917 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.
Harold, A. 2015. Argyropelecus sladeni. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T21132859A21913749. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T21132859A21913749.en. Accessed on 12 March 2025.
Harold, A.S., Stewart, A.L. & Roberts, C.D. 2015. Family Sternoptychidae. pp. 446-468 in Roberts, C.D., Stewart, A.L. & Struthers, C.D. The Fishes of New Zealand. Wellington : Te Papa Press Vol. 2 pp. 1-576.
Regan, C.T. 1908. Report on the marine fishes collected by Mr. J. Stanley Gardiner in the Indian Ocean. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London 2nd Series Zoology 12(3): 217-255, pls 23-32 See ref at BHL
Schultz, L.P. 1961. Revision of the marine silver hatchetfishes (family Sternoptychidae). Proceedings of the United States National Museum 112(3449): 587-649. (described as Argyropelecus lynchus hawaiensis, type locality Hawaiian Islands) See ref at BHL
