Grammonus minutus Nielsen & Prokofiev, 2010

Family:  Bythitidae (Livebearing brotulas)
Max. size:  5.5 cm SL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  benthopelagic; marine; depth range 70 - 119 m
Distribution:  Pacific Ocean: off Central Vietnam. Known from two localities (Ref. 84063).
Diagnosis:  Grammonus minutus differs from the nine described Grammonus species since it exhibits the following combination of characters: fin rays in dorsal 75–76, anal 54–55, pectoral 22–23, number of vertebrae 12 + 30, interorbital 7.4% of SL. Males have already reached maturity by a length of 32 mm SL.
Biology:  Depending on the changes in the current system in the Bay of Nha Trang and adjoining areas, juveniles and adolescents of deep-water fishes occur in the collection area at these shallow depths. According to T.T. Hieu, Institute of Oceanography, Nha Trang (personal communication, 2009), there are a number of deep canyons cutting into the outer shelf, which explains the capture of many relatively deep-living species. It is thus possible that G. minutus may live deeper than indicated by the actual trawling depths (Ref. 84063).
IUCN Red List Status: Data deficient (DD); Date assessed: 16 August 2019 Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


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