Author: Zugmayer, 1911
Platyberyx opalescens Zugmayer, 1911
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Platyberyx opalescens Zugmayer, 1911 (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: body compressed, about twice as long as high; lateral line distinct, running near dorsal profile; mouth terminal, slightly oblique, hind tip of upper jaw reaching to or beyond hind margin of eye; two nostrils on each side, separated from each other. Teeth small, in bands on both jaws, palatine and vomer. Dorsal fin high and long, covering almost the length of the body; anal fin beginning below middle of dorsal fin; pelvic fins thoracic, long, their tip reaching far beyond anal fin origin; caudal fin truncate; D 28-31; A 17-19; V 6; P 18. Colour: brownish with opalescent reflections, operculum dark violet-blue, dorsal anal and ventral fins black, caudal fin transparent. Size: to 60 cm SL.
Habitat: mesopelagic at 200-900 m depth. Food: no data. Reproduction: no data.
Distribution: only a few specimens recorded, mainly from the Atlantic Ocean; most northern record from 65° N, most southern record from 40° S; one questionable record from the eastern South Pacific.
Eggs, larvae and young stages. No data.
Otoliths (sagitta). No data.