Spiny Sucker Eel

Tail slender and tapering to a point. Mouth inferior, small and sucker-like; upper lip with thick, pleated folds; posterior end of maxilla bent sharply downward, forming a flap-like structure; fleshy papillae on snout bordering upper lip. Teeth absent. Dorsal fin short-based, located above anus, the first 4-6 rays hard and spinous, increasing in length from front to back, the remainder soft and segmented, membrane connecting all rays except for first I-III spines. Anal fin long, extending from just behind anus to tip of tail, anterior rays spinous, posterior rays segmented, the transition gradual. Caudal fin absent (Ref. 11041). Light brown, lining of gill chamber and rim of opercular branchiostegal flap dark brown, mouth and lining of buccal cavity light yellowish tan (Ref. 37108).

Sexes can be separated by testis and ovaries; there is no indication of internal fertilization.

Dorsal spines (total): 6 - 8; Dorsal soft rays (total): 4 - 5; Anal spines: 44 - 58; Analsoft rays: 67 - 88; Vertebrae: 228 - 234

Found on the continental slope (Ref. 75154). Feed mostly on organic material contained in bottom sediment drawn up by the sucker-like mouth [RF believes this belongs to soft-bodied invertebrates]. No obvious sexual dimorphism; little is known about its biology (Ref. 11041).

Feed mostly on organic material contained in bottom sediment drawn up by the sucker-like mouth [RF doubts this is a detritus feeder; the elaborate mouth without teeth looks like a specialization for extracting soft-bodied benthic invertebrates out of the ground; also, there are no gill rakers to filter detritus (Ref. 50674)]. No obvious sexual dimorphism; a female of 37.5 cm SL was still immature (Ref. 50674).

fisheries: of no interest

Lipogenys gillii, the blackfin tapirfish, is a species of spiny eel in the family Notacanthidae, the only member of its genus. It is a benthic deep-sea fish occurring along the eastern coast of North America and in the southwestern Pacific near Australia at depths from 400 to 2,000 m.

Feeds on organic material

Nova Scotia and Hudson Canyon

Found at depths of 600- 2000 m.

benthic

Known from seamounts and knolls