Legless Tubeshoulder, Platytroctes apus Günther 1878


Other Names: Legless Searsid

A Legless Tubeshoulder, Platytroctes apus, from seamounts in the Tasman Sea. Source: Robin McPhee & Mark McGrouther / NORFANZ Founding Parties. License: All rights reserved

Summary:
A deep-bodied dark brown tubeshoulder with a black opercular region, shoulder luminous organ, and anus, tiny pectoral fins, and luminous glands along the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the caudal peduncle.

Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2017, Platytroctes apus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 29 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/3963

Legless Tubeshoulder, Platytroctes apus Günther 1878

More Info


Distribution

Northwest of Port Hedland, Western Australia, and on the Norfolk Ridge, north and south of Norfolk Island. Elsewhere the species is circumglobal in tropical to temperate waters.

Features

Dorsal fin 20; Anal fin 17. 
Body highly compressed, flabby, leaf-like in appearance; upper and lower edges of caudal peduncle fringed by black luminous tissue; pectoral fin tiny.

Species Citation

Platytroctes apus Günther 1878, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 5 2(2, 22, 28): 249. Type locality: Atlantic Ocean [01°N, 26°W].depth 1500 fathoms

Author

Bray, D.J. 2017

Resources

Australian Faunal Directory

Legless Tubeshoulder, Platytroctes apus Günther 1878

References


Günther, A. 1878. Preliminary notices of deep-sea fishes collected during the voyage of H.M.S. Challenger. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 5 2(2, 22, 28): 17-28, 179-187, 248-251 

Günther, A. 1887. Report on the deep-sea fishes collected by H.M.S Challenger during the years 1873–1876. Report on the Scientific Results of the Voyage of H.M.S. Challenger 1873–1876, Zoology 22(57): 1-268 figs 1-7 pls 1-66

Iwamoto, T. 2015. Platytroctes apus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T190217A21908841. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T190217A21908841.en. Downloaded on 16 July 2017.

Hartel, K.E., Kenaley, C.P., Galbraith, J.K. & Sutton, T.T. 2008. Additional records of deep-sea fishes from off the greater New England. Northeastern Naturalist 15(3): 317-334.

Matsui, T. & Rosenblatt, R.H. 1987. Review of the deep-sea fish family Platytroctidae (Pisces: Salmoniformes). Bulletin of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography 26: 1-159.

Pakhorukov, N.P. 1999. Underwater observations on deepwater fish of the Atlantic ocean in the region of the Sierra Leone rise. Journal of Ichthyology 39(8): 626–633.

Parr, A.E. 1960. The fishes of the family Searsidae. Dana Reports 51: 1-109 figs 1-73 

Quéro, J.-C., Matsui, T., Rosenblatt, R.H. & Sazonov, Yu.I. 1984. Searsiidae, pp. 256-267. In: Whitehead, P.J.P., Bauchot, M.-L., Hureau, J.-C., Nielsen, J. & Tortonese, E. (eds) 1984. Fishes of the north-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Paris : UNESCO Vol. 1 510 pp. figs.

Sazonov, Yu.I. 1986: Morphology and classification of the fishes of the family Platytroctidae (Salmoniformes, Alepocephaloidei). Tr. Inst Okeanol. Akad. Nauk SSSR 121: 51-96. (in Russian with English summary)

Sazonov, Yu.I. 1996. Morphology and significance of the luminous organs in alepocephaloid fishes, pp. 151-163. In: Uiblein, F., Ott, J., Stachowitsch, M. (eds) Deep-sea and extreme shallow-water habitats: affinities and adaptations. Biosystematics and Ecology Series 11 PDF

Sazonov, Y.I. 1999. Family Platytroctidae. pp. 1894-1895 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.

Williams, A. & Stewart, A.L. 2015. Family Platytroctidae. pp. 346-353 in Roberts, C.D., Stewart, A.L. & Struthers, C.D. The Fishes of New Zealand. Wellington : Te Papa Press Vol. 2 pp. 1-576.

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37115004

Biology:Bioluminescent

Conservation:IUCN Least Concern

Depth:385-5393m (usually 1000-2000m)

Habitat:Mesopelagic, bathypelagic

Max Size:18 cm SL

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Species Maps

CAAB distribution map