Loss of gill rakers and teeth in adult specimens of barracudina Arctozenus risso (Aulopiformes: Paralepididae) from the western North Atlantic

Abstract Two unusual adult specimens of the barracudina Arctozenus risso were caught in midwater trawls off the Flemish Cap in April 2016. These specimens displayed atypical traits including lack of teeth and gill rakers and fragile jaw bones; a combination of morphological examination and mtDNA seq...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Fish Biology
Main Authors: Devine, Brynn, Van Guelpen, Lou
Other Authors: Canadian Network for Research and Innovation in Machining Technology, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Research and Development Corporation of Newfoundland and Labrador
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2020
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Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jfb.14559
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/jfb.14559
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/jfb.14559
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Summary:Abstract Two unusual adult specimens of the barracudina Arctozenus risso were caught in midwater trawls off the Flemish Cap in April 2016. These specimens displayed atypical traits including lack of teeth and gill rakers and fragile jaw bones; a combination of morphological examination and mtDNA sequencing confirmed species identification . Both specimens exhibited ripening ovaries and testes, confirming simultaneous hermaphroditism. These fish represent the first records of lateā€stage loss of features in the genus Arctozenus and may indicate a relationship to spawning in larger specimens.