View data on Catalog of Fishes here.
Dorsal-fin rays 14–15 (rarely 16); anal-fin rays (rarely 15) 16–17; pectoral-fin rays 13–14; gill rakers (rarely 20) 21–23; vertebrae 32–33. Medium to small species, seldom exceeds 50 mm SL; body and trunk broad, narrowing abruptly to small, short caudal peduncle; post-temporal spines short, needlelike; dorsal spine short; preopercle spine short, triangulate; abdominal keel scales smooth; not extended ventrally; first supra-anal photophore lower than other two; first supra-abdominal raised well above second which is approximately even with third; subcaudal photophore group short, about equal to width of dorsal pigment bar at its center; body margin below anal photophores markedly curved; anal pterygiophores extend well beyond body margin; jaws small; teeth minute; gill rakers medium to long, and spinose; in preservative, pigment dark dorsally with pigment bar reaching toward midline; ventral border of dorsal pigment in straight line, from lateral photophore to caudal peduncle; dark pigment spots on midline and between midline and border of darker dorsal pigment; pigment striations present on trunk.
Post-temporal spine simple, bearing no basal spines; lateral edge of post-temporal-supracleithrum smooth; keel scales with smooth ventral surfaces; supraanal photophores separate, usually raised well above anal group. Post-temporal spine short, its length less than one-fourth the diameter of orbit; anal photophore number 7 to 9; body robust, less than 1.9 times body depth; first supra-anal photophore markedly lower than second. Teeth absent on posterior vomerine shaft; second supra-anal photophore even with or raised above third; supra-abdominal photophores nonsymmetrical, first photophore raised well above other two. Gill rakers to 24; dorsal rays 14 to 16; lower margin of dark dorsal pigment straight from dorsal spine to caudal peduncle. Anal pterygiophores form circular margin below anal photophores; anal photophores number 7 to 8; fewer than 3.5 times body depth at end of dorsal.
Restricted to the eastern Atlantic from 31˚N to 25˚S latitude.
Baird RC. 1971. The Systematics, Distribution, and Zoogeography of the Marine Hatchetfishes (family Sternoptychidae). Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zooology 142(1):1–128.
Baird RC. 1971. The Systematics, Distribution, and Zoogeography of the Marine Hatchetfishes (family Sternoptychidae). Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zooology 142(1):1–128.
To about 50 mm SL.
Eastern Atlantic, 6°08'S, 11°24'E, depth 350–380 meters.
Holotype: MRAC 95092.
Polyipnus polli, commonly known as the round hatchetfish, is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Sternoptychidae. It occurs in deep water in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, at depths between about 250 and 600 metres (800 and 2,000 ft).[3]
The fish is named in honor of Max Poll (1908-1991), a Belgian ichthyologist, who loaned specimens of this species to Schultz.[4]
Polyipnus polli is a common species within its known range and faces no particular threats. For these reasons, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".[1]
Polyipnus polli, commonly known as the round hatchetfish, is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Sternoptychidae. It occurs in deep water in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, at depths between about 250 and 600 metres (800 and 2,000 ft).
