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🌊 Marine Least Concern 🌡️ Tropical

Spothead dragonfish

Melanostomias paucilaternatus skaya, 1978
Max Length
20.1 cm
Max Weight
-
Lifespan
-
Trophic Level
4.1
Depth
-
Climate
Tropical
Resilience
Medium
Vulnerability
33.00/100
Typical Length
-
Depth Zone
pelagic

📖 Overview

Spothead dragonfish (Melanostomias paucilaternatus), first described by skaya, 1978 is a medium-sized fish in the family Stomiidae (order Stomiiformes). Adults typically reach 20.10 cm in maximum length. It inhabits marine coastal and open-ocean environments. It occurs in Tropical waters. Diet is predominantly piscivorous, targeting other fish and larger prey. On the IUCN Red List, it is classified as Least Concern.

Scientific Name
Melanostomias paucilaternatus
Authority
skaya, 1978
Habitat
Marine
Climate
Tropical
Body Shape
Elongated
IUCN Status
LC
Max Length
20.1 cm
Trophic Level
4.1
Resilience
Medium
Vulnerability
33.00/100
Salinity
30–40 ppt

🔬 Taxonomy

Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Teleostei
Teleostei
Order
Stomiiformes
Stomiiformes
Family
Stomiidae
Stomiidae
Genus
Melanostomias
Melanostomias
Species
Spothead dragonfish
Melanostomias paucilaternatus

🐟 Physical Description

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 13 - 16; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 16 - 18. : elongated.

🌀 Behaviour

Behavioural data for Spothead dragonfish is currently being reviewed.

🦐 Diet

small fish
crustaceans
cephalopods

🥚 Reproduction

🐣 Oviparous 📦 Batch Spawner
Spawning Season
spring-summer
Spawn Location
Pelagic
Fertilization
External

🌍 Habitat & Distribution

Marine; pelagic-oceanic; depth range ? - 1000 m . Tropical South Atlantic: known only from two locations, 18°S,14°W and 27°S,3°E.

🌿 Ecology

Zone Preferences
🌊 Marine 🐟 Pelagic
Trophic Level
4.1±0.7

📐 Morphometrics

Length–Weight Relationship: W = 0.00309 × L3.12 (TL)
Max TL
20.1cm
Dorsal Rays
15
Anal Rays
17

🌡️ Water Parameters & Tolerance

Salinity Range
30–40ppt

🛡️ Conservation Assessment

IUCN Category
Least Concern
Assessment Date
2014

📊 Population Risk & Fisheries

Population Resilience
Medium
Minimum doubling time
Fishing Vulnerability
33.00/100
Low vulnerability
Trophic Level
4.1
Apex / Top predator
Body Shape
Elongated
Climate Zone
Tropical
Described By
skaya, 1978

🌐 Names & Taxonomy

Language Common Names
🇬🇧English Spothead Dragonfish
🌍CES pestrosvítivec oceánský
🇯🇵Japanese Kantenhoshieso · カンテンホシエソ
🇵🇹Portuguese Peixe-dragão-oceânico

🗺️ Global Occurrence Map

Occurrence records from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) - 3 records indexed .

Occurrence density from GBIF View GBIF records ↗

👥 Community & Contribute

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