Escal appendage pattern C; esca with a single elongate tapering anterior appendage, 33.3–43.0% SL, without internal pigment; a pair of filamentous medial appendages, half the length of escal bulb in 18-mm paratype, minute in 38-mm holotype; a rounded terminal escal papilla with two bilaterally placed distal pigment spots; a short unpigmented anteroposteriorly compressed posterior escal appendage; lateral and anterolateral escal appendages absent.
Subopercle large, elongate, dorsal end tapering to a point, without indentation on posterodorsal margin; length of ventral fork of opercle 30.3–32.3% SL; ratio of lengths of dorsal and ventral forks of opercle 0.44–52.
Epibranchial teeth absent; teeth present on pharyngobranchial II; total number of teeth in upper jaw 28–32, in lower jaw 33–37; number of teeth on vomer 6; dorsal-fin rays 5–7; anal-fin rays 4; pectoral-fin rays 15 or 16.
Measurements in percent of standard length: head length 50.0; head depth 43.0–48.5; premaxilla length 38.0; lower jaw length 47.5; illicium length 26.5–35.5.
View data on Catalog of Fishes here.
Oneirodes alius is known only from the Halmahera Sea. The holotype, three non-type specimens (11.5–12 mm), and the 21-mm paratype were captured with a closing net between 575–600 m, 700–1000, and 1000–1100 m, respectively. The remaining two specimens were captured somewhere between the surface and 1200 m.
Oneirodes alius is a member of the O. schmidti-group. In addition to its unique escal morphology, O. alius appears to differ from other members of the O. schmidti-group in having fewer lower jaw teeth.
Meso- to bathypelagic.
Pietsch TW. 2009. Oceanic Anglerfishes: Extraordinary Diversity in the Deep Sea. Berkley: University of California Press. 638 p.
Although unknown, males of O. alius are certainly free-living and presumed non-parasitic, as is the case with most oneirodid taxa.
Known from 7 metamorphosed females (10–38 mm).
ALPHA HELIX station 122, Halmahera Sea, 0°36.3'S, 129°03.2'E, RMT-8, 575–600 m, 2240–2340 hr, 16 May 1975.
Holotype of Oneirodes alius: LACM 36026-1, 38 mm.
