Author: (Risso, 1820)
Lestidiops sphyrenoides (Risso, 1820)
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Lestidiops sphyrenoides (Risso, 1820) (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: body elongate, head about 5 1/2-6 times in SL; snout a little less than head length. Dorsal fin short, a little behind midpoint of body, with 9-11 finrays; a short adipose dorsal fin near tail; pectoral finrays 11; pelvic fins distinctly before dorsal fin origin, with 9 finrays; anal fin far back, with 28-31 finrays and an adipose fin in front as far as anus, which is below dorsal fin. Body naked except for lateral line scales. Vertebra 89-92. Colour: light, with dark dorsal band of minute pigment cells (but not in contact with lateral line). Size: known to 27 cm.
Habitat: epi- to mesopelagic, no data on adults, but larval and juvenile stages collected in upper 400 m. Food: presumably carnivorous, but diet unknown. Reproduction: throughout year.
Distribution: temperate eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean.
Note: belongs to the jayakari-complex, which is much in need of revision.
Eggs, larvae and young stages. Ege, 1930: 62-70.
Otoliths (sagitta). No data.