Leuroglossus schmidti Rass, 1955
Northern smoothtongue
photo by Orlov, A.

Family:  Bathylagidae (Deep-sea smelts)
Max. size:  20 cm SL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  bathypelagic; marine; depth range 394 - 1800 m
Distribution:  North Pacific: southeastern Hokkaido, Japan to Navarin Canyon in the Bering Sea and southern British Columbia, Canada. Possibly in Kamchatka (Ref. 6885). Regarded as a subspecies of Leuroglossus stilbius, Gilbert 1890 but Peden (1981) presented evidence for separating the two and Dunn (1983) placed them in the genus Leuroglossus.
Diagnosis:  Dorsal spines (total): 0-0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10-11; Anal spines: 0-0; Anal soft rays: 11-14; Vertebrae: 47-52. Body slender and compressed. Anal fin base short, and almost equal to dorsal fin base. snout pointed. Eye diameter shorter than snout length. Upper jaw shorter than lower jaw. Teeth present on lower jaw, prevomer, palatine, but not on upper jaw. Branchiostegals, 2. Color silvery, dusky on dorsal surface and fins (Ref. 6885).
Biology:  Adults are generally found at depths greater than 150 m during the day. Oviparous, with planktonic eggs and larvae (Ref. 35604), which are distributed in the sub-arctic gyre south to about 47°N (Ref. 6848).
IUCN Red List Status: Not Evaluated (N.E.) Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


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