Common names from other countries
Teleostei (teleosts) >
Ophidiiformes (Cusk eels) >
Ophidiidae (Cusk-eels) > Ophidiinae
Etymology: Lepophidium: Latin, lepus, leporis = rabbit + Greek, ophis = serpent (Ref. 45335).
More on authors: Goode & Bean.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; bathydemersal; depth range 155 - 525 m (Ref. 34024), usually 300 - ? m (Ref. 91765). Deep-water; 29°N - 10°N, 90°W - 63°W (Ref. 91765)
Western Central Atlantic: entire western edge of the Bahamas to Cuba, along the Antilles chain to the Virgin Islands; in the western Caribbean Sea (from Yucatan to Nicaragua).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 22.2 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 91765)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal soft rays (total): 120 - 130; Anal soft rays: 103 - 110; Vertebrae: 69 - 72. Rostral spine long and curved, reaching tip of snout, without vertical basal component; peritoneum pale; no median basibranchial tooth patch; head extensively covered with imbricate rows of cycloid scales except for snout and throat; body tapering to point, dagger-shaped (Ref. 34024).
Uncommon species (Ref. 34024). Oviparous, with oval pelagic eggs floating in a gelatinous mass (Ref. 205).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae
Robins, C.R., R.H. Robins and M.E. Brown, 2012. A revision of Lepophidium (Teleoastei, Ophidiidae), with descriptions of eight new species. Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History 52(1):1-94. (Ref. 91765)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)
CITES (Ref. 128078)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
115969): 9.1 - 21.8, mean 14.8 (based on 108 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00102 (0.00046 - 0.00225), b=3.06 (2.88 - 3.24), in cm Total Length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.6 ±0.7 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (17 of 100).