Diastobranchus capensis Barnard, 1923
Basketwork eel
Diastobranchus capensis
photo by Yau, B.

Family:  Synaphobranchidae (Cutthroat eels), subfamily: Synaphobranchinae
Max. size:  180 cm TL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  bathydemersal; marine; depth range 183 - 2000 m
Distribution:  Circum-austral, except eastern Pacific (Ref. 26895). Distributed on the continental slope of South Africa, off Tasmania, New Zealand, Discovery Seamount and the Rio Grande Rise off South America (Ref. 5167). Also found in Argentina (Ref. 47881). First record from the far north (Spitzbergen, Svalbard Arch.) (Ref. 96237).
Diagnosis:  Dark purplish black in color (Ref. 3973). Lateral line pores before anus about 27 (Ref. 3973).
Biology: 
IUCN Red List Status: Vulnerable (VU); Date assessed: 22 November 2019 (A2bd) Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless
Country info:  First record of this species caught between 666-682 meters. Offered explanations of its appearance in the north of this southern species could be that this species is more widely distributed and have not been sampled until the first specimen/record was caught (depth not often fished), it could have been discarded from a fishing vessel, a possible misidentification of another species like Synaphobranchus kaupii, or a case of adult migration by isothermal submergence. A more plausible reason whas that it was brought to the area by abnormal current conditions when there was an increased influx of Atlantic water that has been recorded in the Norwegian Sea and Svalbard region after 2003, especially in 2005 and following this influx, a number of temperate region fish species were caught in the Barents Sea and the waters around Svalbard in the years 2004-2009 (Ref. 96237).


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