Spectrunculus grandis
Encyclopedia
Spectrunculus grandis is a species of ray-finned fish
in the cusk-eel family
known by the common names pudgy cusk-eel and giant cusk-eel. It is one of two species in the formerly monotypic genus Spectrunculus, the other species, S. crassus, having been differentiated in 2008.
The pudgy cusk-eel is a common fish of deep oceans worldwide. It is bathydemersal, living along the ocean floor most often at depths between 2000 and 3000 metres, and known from waters as deep as 4800 metres. It is one of the largest bony fishes
living below 2000 meters, reaching up to 127 centimetres in length. The male is larger than the female and darker in colour. It has a long, laterally compressed body and a rounded snout with a single fleshy anterior nostril in front of a flat posterior nostril. The fish varies in coloration from pale with white fins to light brown to dark brown; individuals from the Atlantic Ocean
are often pale while Pacific Ocean
specimens are usually darker.
The fish is oviparous
, the eggs floating in masses.
Actinopterygii
The Actinopterygii or ray-finned fishes constitute a class or sub-class of the bony fishes.The ray-finned fishes are so called because they possess lepidotrichia or "fin rays", their fins being webs of skin supported by bony or horny spines , as opposed to the fleshy, lobed fins that characterize...
in the cusk-eel family
Ophidiidae
The cusk-eels family are a group of marine bony fishes in the order Ophidiiformes. The scientific name is from Greek ophis meaning "snake", and refers to their eel-like appearance...
known by the common names pudgy cusk-eel and giant cusk-eel. It is one of two species in the formerly monotypic genus Spectrunculus, the other species, S. crassus, having been differentiated in 2008.
The pudgy cusk-eel is a common fish of deep oceans worldwide. It is bathydemersal, living along the ocean floor most often at depths between 2000 and 3000 metres, and known from waters as deep as 4800 metres. It is one of the largest bony fishes
Teleostei
Teleostei is one of three infraclasses in class Actinopterygii, the ray-finned fishes. This diverse group, which arose in the Triassic period, includes 20,000 extant species in about 40 orders; most living fishes are members of this group...
living below 2000 meters, reaching up to 127 centimetres in length. The male is larger than the female and darker in colour. It has a long, laterally compressed body and a rounded snout with a single fleshy anterior nostril in front of a flat posterior nostril. The fish varies in coloration from pale with white fins to light brown to dark brown; individuals from the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
are often pale while Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
specimens are usually darker.
The fish is oviparous
Oviparity
Oviparous animals are animals that lay eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, reptiles, all birds, the monotremes, and most insects, some molluscs and arachnids....
, the eggs floating in masses.