Himantolophus stewarti Pietsch & Kenaley, 2011

Family:  Himantolophidae (Footballfishes)
Max. size:  12.4 cm SL (female)
Environment:  bathydemersal; marine; depth range 400 - 1413 m
Distribution:  Tasman Sea: South Tasman Rise. Himantolophus stewarti is probably everywhere sympatric with its sister species H. appelii, both restricted to the southern parts of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans below 27°S and extending into the Southern Ocean. Most of the known material was taken off New Zealand and Tasmania, with scattered records from off southern Australia, the central and western Indian Ocean, off South Africa, the Falkland Islands, and off the southern tip of Chile. A large proportion of the known material (70%) was collected with bottom trawls at depth between 400 and 1413 m. Others were taken with midwater gear fished open between the surface and approximately 990 m, some at maximum depths well off the bottom (e.g., SAM 31615, 150 mm, maximum depth reached by gear 990 m, over a bottom depth of 2000 m) (Ref. 88962).
Diagnosis:  A species of the Himantolophus appelii group (as recognized by Bertelsen and Krefft, 1988), known only from females, distinguished from its sister-species, H. appelii, the only other member of this group, in having short distal and posterior escal appendages (Ref. 88962).
Biology: 
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 11 October 2018 Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


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