Handsome Snailfish

This species is distinguished by the following set of characters: vertebrae 46 (10 - 11 + 35 - 36), D 42 - 43, A 35 - 36; pectoral-fin rays 31 - 32; pleural ribs 3 pairs; hypural one, slitted; C 10 (principal rays); head in adults 25.5 - 26.3 % SL, preanal length 39 % SL; eye 28.2 - 28.5 % head length (lc); pelvic disk 31.4 - 32.3 % lc; pores 2-6-7-1; gill slit reaching to the 4th pectoral-fin ray. Colouration: when fresh bright reddish-orange with peritoneum pale (Ref. 123108).

Dorsal soft rays (total): 42 - 43; Analsoft rays: 35 - 36; Vertebrae: 46

The sediment from the Agassiz trawl was a mixture of sand, pebbles and stones, and numerous large fragments of dead and living glass sponges. Invertebrates found were dominated by at least 5 species of isopods and caprellids attached to colonies of hydroids (5 - 6 species), some benthopelagic shrimps (2 - 3 species), and a few gastropods and ophiurids (Ref. 123108).