Author: Lowe, 1843
Taractes asper Lowe, 1843
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Taractes asper Lowe, 1843 (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: profile of head between eyes concave, snout appearing somewhat pointed. No keel on caudal peduncle. Dorsal finrays 31-33; anal finrays 23-26; pectoral finrays 18-20. Vertebrae 41-42. Gillrakers 8-10. Scales in horizontal series 43 46. Median spines on scales more prominent posteriorly than anteriorly. Size: to about 50 cm SL.
Habitat: pelagic, offshore in warm and temperate waters. Food: no data. Reproduction: may spawn widely in the subtropics.
Distribution: rare, but known from Madeira to Iceland and northern Norway. Elsewhere, in all the oceans.
Eggs, larvae and young stages. Mead, 1972: 23.
Otoliths (sagitta). No data.