Teleostei (teleosts) >
Stomiiformes (Lightfishes and dragonfishes) >
Stomiidae (Barbeled dragonfishes) > Melanostomiinae
Etymology: Tactostoma: There is two interpretations; Greek, taktos, -e,-on = put in order + Greek, soma = body; or latin, tactus = touch, sense of touch + Greek, soma = body (Ref. 45335).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; bathypelagic; depth range 30 - 2000 m (Ref. 28981). Deep-water; 66°N -
Northwest Pacific: Japan (Ref. 559); Kamchatka and Kuril Islands (Ref. 41668). Eastern Pacific: Bering Sea (Ref. 265) and the Gulf of Alaska to southern California, USA (Ref. 2850), southwards to central Baja California (Ref. 35904). Reported from Chile.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?, range 30 - ? cm
Max length : 34.3 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4925)
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 14 - 18; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 19 - 22; Vertebrae: 79 - 82. Jet black all over except for the dark gray on the posterior part of the lower jaw; when the thin epidermis is rubbed off, as is difficult to avoid, the dermis shows lead gray; young rich brown in color (Ref. 6885).
Body shape (shape guide): eel-like.
Mesopelagic migrating into epipelagic at night (Ref. 35904). Oviparous, with planktonic eggs and larvae (Ref. 35904).
Eschmeyer, W.N., E.S. Herald and H. Hammann, 1983. A field guide to Pacific coast fishes of North America. Boston (MA, USA): Houghton Mifflin Company. xii+336 p. (Ref. 2850)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
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Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 0.3 - 6.7, mean 3.7 °C (based on 150 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 1.0000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00093 (0.00036 - 0.00241), b=3.06 (2.84 - 3.28), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 4.2 ±0.0 se; based on diet studies.
Generation time: 3.3 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 1
growth studies.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.3).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low to moderate vulnerability (33 of 100).
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