Melamphaes polylepis Ebeling, 1962
Melamphaes polylepis
photo by JAMARC

Family:  Melamphaidae (Bigscale fishes or ridgeheads)
Max. size:  7.9 cm SL (male/unsexed); max.weight: 11.1 g
Environment:  bathypelagic; marine; depth range 200 - 2250 m
Distribution:  Circumtropical in North Atlantic (3°56'N, 12°33'W and 10°21'N, 17°59'W in the eastern Atlantic). Indo-Pacific: including Japan (Ref. 599) and New Zealand (Ref. 5755). Southeast Pacific: Chile (Ref. 9068).
Diagnosis:  Dorsal spines (total): 3-3; Dorsal soft rays (total): 13-15; Anal spines: 1-1; Anal soft rays: 7-8. The species is characterized by the following: first gill arch with 20-22 rakers; vertebrae 29 (28-30 reported by Ebeling, 1962), abdominal vertebrae 11 (rarely, 12); two ventrolateral-oriented spurs on the haemal arch of the first caudal vertebra; D III 14-15 (rarely, III 13); P 15; soft rays in the ventral fin 7; ventral fin starts after the vertical line of the posterior margin of the pectoral fin basement (rarely, from this vertical line); anal fin starts under the last ray of the dorsal fin or just after the dorsal fin; operculum with 4 scales (Ref. 87970).
Biology:  This species is caught by open-mouth nets at 4228-0 m, with original sampling done by closing-mouth nets at 1000 m (Ref. 87970).
IUCN Red List Status: Data deficient (DD); Date assessed: 15 July 2014 Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


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