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Body long, slender, its depth more than 10 times in SL. Head with short, blunt snout; lower jaw not longer than upper jaw, not curved strongly upward; barbel 1/2–3/4 of SL, its terminal end with a bulb and variable numbers of filaments. Pectoral fin with I long free finray and 8–11 shorter rays, the long ray with a bulb and filament at its tip; pelvic fins low on body, their insertions close together near mid-ventral line; base of anal fin almost twice as long as that of dorsal, its origin well in advance of dorsal fin origin; no dorsal adipose fin. Photophores in ventral row between pectoral and pelvic fin insertions (PV) 31–34; no pale loop or line on flanks; postorbital luminous organ small, roundish, about 1/4 eye diameter or less; no anterior orbital photophore; no large patches of luminous material on head behind eye. Color of head and body black.
Eastern Atlantic to 40° S; western Atlantic north of 15° N and south of 28° S; also, Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Meso- to bathypelagic
Gibbs RH, Jr. 1984. Melanostomiidae. In: Whitehead PJP, Bauchot M-L, Hureau J-C, Nielsen J, Tortonese E, editors. Fishes of the North-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Paris: UNESCO. p 341–365.
To more than 32 cm.
Southwest of the Azores [Eastern Atlantic], 38°55'N, 34°07'30"W, station 3279, depth 0–3000 meters.
Holotype: MOM 0091-1524.