Cook Islands Flashlightfish

📖 Overview

Cook Islands Flashlightfish (Protoblepharon rosenblatti), first described by Baldwin, Johnson & Paxton, 1997 is a medium-sized fish in the family Anomalopidae (order Trachichthyiformes). Adults typically reach 22.00 cm in maximum length. It inhabits marine coastal and open-ocean environments. It occurs in Tropical waters. It feeds on a mix of small fish and invertebrates as a mid-level predator. On the IUCN Red List, it is classified as Data Deficient.

🔬 Taxonomy

🐟 Physical Description

Dorsal spines (total): 7; Dorsal soft rays (total): 14; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 11; Vertebrae: 30. This species is distinguished from it s congener P mccoskeri in having the following characters: body depth 2.8 in SL (vs. 2.3 in SL); pelvic fin origin posterior to (vs. anterior to) vertical through origin of dorsal fin; pectoral fin when appressed reaching (vs. falling short of) lateral line; pelvic fin when appressed reaching well beyond (vs. falling short of) midpoint between pelvic and anal fin origins; eye and light organ bigger; seventh dorsal-fin spine longer; pseudobranch filaments ca 27 (vs. 38); scale rows along vertical between origin of dorsal fin and lateral line ca. 18 (vs. ca. 30); scale rows along body axis ca. 145 (vs. over 260); enlarged scales 21 at anal fin base (vs. 37 surrounding anal fin base 37); 2-3 rows of irregularly shaped plate-like cycloid scales along outer margin of gill chamber (vs. single row of enlarged cycloid, plate-like scales); 97 (52 on right + 45 at left) enlarged scales along dorsal-fin base and 22 (11 at each side) along anal-fin base; a third row of flat, tooth-plate type gill rakers between the other two rows on each lower limb of second and third arches; number of abdominal scutes 13 (with the 7th not clearly defined); 14 abdominal and 16 caudal vertebrae, including second ural centrum; dorsal fin supported by 21anteroposteriorly expanded pterygiophores (7 spinous, 14 soft ray); one supraneural anterior to the first and second neural spines; supraneural and pterygiophore insertion formula 0/0/1+1/1/1/1/1/1/0/1/1/1/1/1/2/3/3; anal fin supported by 12 anteroposteriorly expanded pterygiophores, first 3 inserting anterior to haemal spine of first caudal (15th) vertebra .: fusiform / normal; Cross section: compressed.

🌀 Behaviour

Behavioural data for Cook Islands Flashlightfish is currently being reviewed.

🦐 Diet

🥚 Reproduction

🌍 Habitat & Distribution

Marine; demersal; depth range ? - 274 m . Tropical Central Pacific: Cook Islands.

🌿 Ecology

📐 Morphometrics

🌡️ Water Parameters & Tolerance

🛡️ Conservation Assessment

📊 Population Risk & Fisheries

🌐 Names & Taxonomy

🐠 Related Species

🔍 Similar Species

🗺️ Global Occurrence Map

Occurrence records from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) - 1 records indexed .

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