Author: Giglioli, 1880
Epigonus constanciae Giglioli, 1880
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Epigonus constanciae (Giglioli, 1880) (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: body elongate, head moderate, snout tapering to a rounded point, eye very large, longer than high, reaching upper profile of head; opercular spine pungent, bony, surmounted by one or more poorly ossified spinelets. Mouth large, lower jaw equal to or projecting slightly beyond upper jaw. Dentition variable with age. Gillrakers 29-36 on first arch. Dl VII; D2 I + 8-10, A II + 8-9, P 16-19; pelvic fins thoracic; caudal fin forked. Scales large, ctenoid, deciduous; lateral line 46-50. Pyloric caeca 6- 8. Colour: (preserved specimens) yellow-brown; dorsal fin membrane dark. Size: to 16 cm SL.
Habitat: chiefly on upper portion of continental slope (200-600 m), most abundant at 200-400 m; adults appear strongly associated with the substrate. Food: no data. Reproduction: very few data; neither pelagic larvae nor pelagic juveniles are known; this suggests either a short-lived pelagic phase or lacking of pelagic phase entirely (Mayer and Tortonese, 1977).
Distribution: western Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic off West Africa, also off Madeira and probably off the Azores and the Canaries. Elsewhere, off tropical and equatorial West Africa.
Eggs, larvae and young stages. No data.
Ototliths (sagitta). No data.