Author: Günther, 1882
Cottunculus thomsonii Günther, 1882
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Cottunculus thomsonii (Günther, 1882) (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: skin smooth, bony plates on skin inconspicuous to virtually absent. Head in dorsal view straight to roundish, not markedly indented; occipital protuberances pointed; bony protuberances on head relatively short; inter-orbital space flat. D VI + 14-17; A 13; P 22;11-18. Colour: uniform greyish-brown. Size: to at least 35 cm SL.
Habitat: benthic at about 100-1,600 m. Temperatures 3-6°C. Food: small benthic invertebrates. Reproduction: no data.
Distribution: Faroe Channel (type locality) and off Iceland. Elsewhere, off north-western Africa from Mauritania and western Sahara; also scattered records off east coast of North America from South Carolina to Newfoundland and Davis Strait. Specimens resembling this species known from New Zealand.
Eggs, larvae and young stages. No data.
Otoliths (sagitta). Vaillant, 1888: 364, pl. XXVIII (fig. 3a-b).