Author: Lowe, 1841
Enchelycore anatina Lowe, 1841
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Enchelycore anatina (Lowe, 1838) (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: body elongate, clearly compressed behind anus, not very deep (depth 5.3-6.2% TL); anus slightly before midpoint of body. Head long, snout blunt; anterior nostril tubular, posterior nostril opening in an oval or round pore with a slight rim, near upper anterior eye margin. Lower jaw prominent, directed upwards at tip, length of mouth cleft 41-55% head length; in both jaws an outer row of rather long teeth alternating with 3-5 smaller teeth, and an inner row of long and spaced teeth; premaxillary teeth very long and sharp; 2-8 very small uniserial vomerine teeth. Gill opening restricted to small roundish lateral pore. Dorsal and anal fins confluent with caudal fin, dorsal fin origin before gill opening; pectoral and pelvic fins absent. Vertebrae: total 153-158; abdominal 68-69. Colour: chocolate brown with large light ocelli with numerous dark spots in their central zone; small light patches scattered between ocelli; antero-ventral region light brown with dark spotting; young with more contrasting coloration. Size: to over I m.
Habitat: benthic on shelf, on rocky coasts at 10 m. Food: no data. Reproduction: very few data, one juvenile described by Blache (1977) near Annobon 1.
Distribution: all eastern Atlantic islands, including the Azores and Madeira; a recent record from the Mediterranean coast of Israel (Ben-Tuvia, 1984).
Eggs, larvae and young stages. Blache, 1977: 53 (leptocephali).
Otoliths (sagitta). No data.