Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) >
Osmeriformes (Smelts) >
Alepocephalidae (Slickheads)
Etymology: Alepocephalus: Greek, alepos, alepidotos = without scales + Greek, kephale = head (Ref. 45335). More on author: Goode, Bean.
Environment / Climate / Range
Ecology
Marine; bathydemersal; depth range 600 - 2500 m (Ref. 4460). Deep-water, preferred ?; 70°N - 15°N, 72°W - 5°W (Ref. 57313)
Eastern Atlantic: Iceland and Greenland, west of British Isles, Morocco south to Mauritania. Western Atlantic: Davis Strait south to Honduras.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 123 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 106777); common length : 70.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4736)
Bathypelagic (Ref. 58426). Found over sand and clay bottoms. Gregarious. Feeds mostly ctenophores, but also crustaceans, echinoderms and polychaetes (Ref. 4460).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Markle, D.F. and Y.I. Sazanov, 1990. Alepocephalidae. p. 246-264. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 1. (Ref. 4460)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)
CITES (Ref. 94142)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: of potential interest
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Estimates of some properties based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82805): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00347 (0.00157 - 0.00764), b=3.19 (3.00 - 3.38), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic Level (Ref.
69278): 3.9 ±0.25 se; Based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
69278): Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Very high vulnerability (78 of 100) .