Diet of two Antarctic dragonfish (Pisces: Bathydraconidae) from the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean

The diet of Cygnodraco mawsoni Waite 1916 and Gymnodraco acuticeps Boulenger 1902 (Pisces: Bathydraconidae) was studied in the Cooperation and Cosmonaut seas in the depth range 200–400 m during the summer 1988. Stomach content analysis showed that both species are piscivorous predators but with diff...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Antarctic Science
Main Author: Pakhomov, E A
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 1998
Subjects:
Antarctica Bathydraconidae
Antarctic
Indian
Southern Ocean
Antarc*
Antarctica
Cosmonaut sea
Euphausia superba
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011970
https://corycommons.ru.ac.za/vital/access/manager/Repository/vital:6943
https://doi.org/10.1017/S095410209800008X
Description
Summary:The diet of Cygnodraco mawsoni Waite 1916 and Gymnodraco acuticeps Boulenger 1902 (Pisces: Bathydraconidae) was studied in the Cooperation and Cosmonaut seas in the depth range 200–400 m during the summer 1988. Stomach content analysis showed that both species are piscivorous predators but with different feeding habits. Cygnodraco mawsoni fed mostly on young notothenioid fish, regularly complementing these with pelagic, Euphausia superba, and benthic crustaceans, such as amphipod gammarids and mysids. In contrast, G. acuticeps relied mostly on mesopelagic fish of the family Myctophidae. Although C. mawsoni and G. acuticeps occupy similar depths in the Cosmonaut Sea, different feeding habits appear to limit the probability of interspecific competition for food.

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