The mesopelagic fish fauna of the Newfoundland Basin

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Zoology
• Main Author: McKelvie, D. Scott
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1985
• Subjects: Animal Science and Zoology; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; Boa; Newfoundland
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z85-321; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z85-321

The mesopelagic fish fauna of the Newfoundland Basin is relatively depauperate. The specimens that were taken, 6760 in number, represented 51 species and 28 families. The majority were rare, 22 species occurring in only one sample and only 8 species occurring in more than 50% of the samples. The myctophid Benthosema glaciale made up 83.5% of all fish collected. Other species included Stomias boa ferox, Bathylagus euryops, Protomyctophum arcticum, and Chauliodus sloani. There are fewer small species in the Newfoundland Basin than in similar samples in the Slope Water. Specimens of B. glaciale and C. sloani were generally larger in the Newfoundland Basin than in the Slope Water.