Notolepis Dollo, 1908]
Diagnosis: body elongate, its depth 10 or more times in SL. Snout pointed, about half head length; gillrakers needle-like in multiple series on bony bases. Dorsal fin short, well behind midpoint of body, with 9-10 finrays; a small adipose dorsal fin near tail; pectoral finrays 11-13; pelvic fins behind dorsal fin base, with 9 finrays; anal fin far back on body, with 30-32 finrays. Anus between pelvic fins. Body scaled, but scales delicate and easily shed; 62-67 scales in lateral line. Vertebrae 77-84. Colour: Iarge melanophores scattered to make dark dorsal band. Size: to 29 cm.
Habitat: mesopelagic, some pseudoceanic, mainly at 200-1,000 m, singly or in small schools of a few hundred individuals. Food: mainly fishes and shrimps. Reproduction: in temperate and subtropical waters.
Distribution: throughout area. Elsewhere, worldwide, from Arctic to Antarctic.
Species: see note below.
Note: Notolepis rissoi given here clearly differs in important respects from N. coatsi Dollo, 1908, on which the genus is based. It merits a separate genus, but for the moment is retained under Notolepis. See recent work on N. coatsi by Post (1978).
Species of this genus in the program:
Notolepis rissoi