Coelorinchus maurofasciatus McMillan & Paulin, 1993
Dark banded rattail
photo by Graham, K.

Family:  Macrouridae (Grenadiers or rattails)
Max. size:  39.9 cm TL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  bathydemersal; marine; depth range - 483 m
Distribution:  Southwest Pacific: Australia (including Tasmania) and New Zealand.
Diagnosis:  Dorsal spines (total): 2-2. About 11 greyish brown dorsal saddle marks (indistinct posteriorly), commencing predorsally, the fifth saddle noticeably darker (brownish black); a narrow, black stripe of pigmentation running along anal fin near the ventral margin of the fin, indistinct anteriorly and posteriorly, darkest midway along fin; upper two-thirds of first dorsal fin darkly pigmented; ventral surface of head and lower jaw naked; small, oval dermal window of light organ separated from anus by one or two scale rows; orbit oval, large 31.8-43.6% HL; pyloric caeca 2-32 (Ref. 26363). Similar to a number of species (C. mystax, C. bollonsi, C. parvifasciatus, C. fasciatus, and C. cookianus) but may be differentiated from each other based on the pigmentation on the body or fins and in pyloric caeca counts, among other characters (Ref. 26363).
Biology:  A benthic species (Ref. 75154) which inhabits upper slopes (Ref. 26363).
IUCN Red List Status: Not Evaluated (N.E.) Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


Source and more info: www.fishbase.org. For personal, classroom, and other internal use only. Not for publication.