Author: Vaillant, 1888
Halosaurus johnsonianus Vaillant, 1888
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Halosaurus johnsonianus Vaillant, 1888 (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: body very slender, greatest depth 1/23-1/25 TL. Dorsal finrays I + 9-10; pelvic finrays I + 8; pectoral finrays I + 15. Pre-oral portion of head as long as post-oral portion. Eye large, horizontal diameter 1/6 head length. Anterior gill arch with about 14 rakers on lower limb. Top and sides of head scaled nearly to tip of snout; opercle scaled. Lateral line scales only slightly enlarged. Preanal lateral line scales 51. Pyloric caeca very short, black, 4-9. Colour: reddish-grey, lateral line a dark band, branchiostegal membranes dark. Size: to about 45 cm (gnathoproctal length to about 20 cm).
Habitat: benthopelagic on the continental slope between 800 and 2,200 m (11-4° C). Food: copepods. Reproduction: no data.
Distribution: apparently limited to slope areas fringing the European-Canaries-Cape Verde basins between latitudes. 20° N and 40° N.
Eggs, larvae and young stages. Collett, 1896: 144 | Harrisson, 1966: 441-486.
Otoliths (sagitta). No data.