Teleostei (teleosts) >
Scombriformes (Mackerels) >
Gempylidae (Snake mackerels)
Etymology: Rexichthys: Latin, rex, rego = king + Greek, ichthys = fish; johnpaxtoni: Named in honor of John R. Paxton, curator of the collection of fishes of the Australian Museum in Sydney (Ref. 44066).
Eponymy: Dr John Richard Paxton (d: 1938) is an American-born Australian ichthyologist. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; benthopelagic; depth range 270 - 470 m (Ref. 9784). Deep-water; 17°S - 35°S, 140°E - 170°W (Ref. 6181)
Western Pacific: eastern coast of Australia between 17°31'S and 32°34'S, and from New Caledonia.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 22.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 6181)
Dorsal spines (total): 19; Dorsal soft rays (total): 14 - 15; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 12 - 13; Vertebrae: 34. Body moderately elongate and compressed. Two lateral lines, the lower originating below the 6th to the 7th spine of the first dorsal fin, descending sharply to ventral contour of body, dividing into a short anterior branch and a much longer posterior branch. The pelvic fin represented by 1 spine and 2 tiny soft rays in smaller specimens but entirely absent in specimens over 10 cm SL. Body color is brownish, fins hyaline; first dorsal fin with a black blotch distally on two anterior membranes.
Adults are probably benthopelagic from 400 to 470 m while juveniles are pelagic from 270 to 400 m depth.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Nakamura, I. and N.V. Parin, 1993. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 15. Snake mackerels and cutlassfishes of the world (families Gempylidae and Trichiuridae). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of the snake mackerels, snoeks, escolars, gemfishes, sackfishes, domine, oilfish, cutlassfishes,. scabbardfishes, hairtails, and frostfishes known to date. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(15):136 p. (Ref. 6181)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
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Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 13.8 - 17.6, mean 17.2 °C (based on 13 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 1.0000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00372 (0.00167 - 0.00826), b=3.10 (2.91 - 3.29), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.8 ±0.5 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Assuming tmax>3).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (17 of 100).
![Image of Rexichthys johnpaxtoni (Paxton\](/images/thumbnails/gif/tn_Rejoh_u0.gif "Image of Rexichthys johnpaxtoni (Paxton\")
