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Notacanthiformes (Halosaurs and deep-sea spiny eels) >
Notacanthidae (Deep-sea spiny eels)
Etymology: Polyacanthonotus: Greek, poly = a lot of + Greek, akantha = thorn + Greek,noton = back (Ref. 45335).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; bathypelagic; depth range 700 - 3000 m (Ref. 4449), usually 1500 - 2000 m (Ref. 4449). Deep-water; 45°N - 35°S, 98°W - 20°E
Eastern Atlantic: off Morocco, the Azores and Canary Islands and South Africa. Western Atlantic: New Jersey, USA to the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. The record from Davis Strait probably refers to Polyacanthonotus rissoanus.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 50.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4449)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 26 - 40; Dorsal soft rays (total): 0. Off white, tan or grey in color, lateral line darker; soft rayed portion of anal dark brown (Ref. 6594). Mouth bluish in front, black behind (Ref. 6594). Opercular flap and underside of head bluish (Ref. 6594). Broad separation of the anterior and posterior nostrils. First dorsal spine well posterior to the root of the pectoral fin. Large mouth, maxillary reaching the border of spectacle and much longer preoral snout (Ref. 37108).
Found at bathyal and abyssal depths. Feeds on benthic polychaetes, cnidarians, amphipods (Ref. 4449).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Sulak, K.J., 1990. Notacanthidae. p. 133-135. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 1. (Ref. 4449)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 3.4 - 5.3, mean 4.1 °C (based on 297 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5630 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00102 (0.00046 - 0.00225), b=3.06 (2.88 - 3.24), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.2 ±0.48 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Moderate vulnerability (40 of 100).
