Promethichthys Gill, 1893
Diagnosis: body oblong, compressed. Lower jaw slightly projecting beyond the upper; tips of jaws without cartilaginous processes. 3-4 fixed and 0-3 movable fang-like teeth in upper jaw anteriorly, 1 fang-like tooth in lower jaw anteriorly. Gillraker at angle of first arch T-shaped. No free spines before anal fin. 2 dorsal and anal detached finlets. D XVII- XVIII(XIX) + I + 17-19 + 2; A II + 16-17 + 2; P 14-15; V I. Scales small. Lateral line single, dorsolateral anteriorly but sharply bending downwards under fourth to sixth dorsal fin spine and then mediolateral. Colour: body greyish to brownish, first dorsal fin darker, second dorsal, anal and caudal fins yellowish. Size: to 100 cm SL, maybe more.
Habitat: oceanic, benthopelagic on continental slope or underwater rises at about 100 to 750 m. Food: fishes, cephalopods, crustaceans. Reproduction: seasonal (August, September) near Madeira; probably throughout the year in warm waters.
Distribution: Madeira, the Azores and Bay of Biscay north of Spain. Elsewhere, probably worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas (not recorded from eastern Pacific).
Species 1.
Species of this genus in the program:
Promethichthys prometheus