Petrotyx hopkinsi Heller & Snodgrass, 1903
Velvetnose brotula
photo by Allen, G.R.

Family:  Bythitidae (Livebearing brotulas)
Max. size:  20 cm TL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  reef-associated; marine
Distribution:  Eastern Pacific: Gulf of California to the Galapagos.
Diagnosis:  Vertebrae: 12-12. Snout with numerous small, fleshy papillae; lips bearing series of dermal fringes; with small eye; posterior margin of preopercle skin-covered; spines absent from opercle and preopercle; upper margin of maxilla sheathed; developed gill rakers 3; single lateral line on body, no pores on head; median basibranchial tooth patch 1; branchiostegal rays 8 (Ref 34024).
Biology:  Uncommon species (Ref. 34024). Adults inhabit rocky crevices (Ref. 11482). Oviparous, with oval pelagic eggs floating in a gelatinous mass (Ref. 205).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 23 May 2007 Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


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