Lopholatilus chamaeleonticeps Goode & Bean, 1879
Great northern tilefish
Lopholatilus chamaeleonticeps
photo by Buckley, W.

Family:  Latilidae (Deepwater tilefishes)
Max. size:  125 cm TL (male/unsexed); 95 cm FL (female); max.weight: 30 kg; max. reported age: 35 years
Environment:  demersal; marine; depth range 80 - 540 m
Distribution:  Western Atlantic: Nova Scotia, Canada south along the U.S., Gulf of Mexico from the Florida Keys, Tampa (Florida) to the Texas/Mexico border, and off Mexico from Tabasco to the Yucatan Peninsula, and along South America from the Gulf of Cariaco (Venezuela) to Suriname (R. Robertson and J. Dooley pers. comm. 2013).
Diagnosis:   
Biology:  Most common around 200 m, usually over mud or sand bottom and occasionally over rough bottom (Ref. 9988); prefers temperature of 8-17°C (Ref. 5951). Feeds mainly on shrimp and crabs, but also takes fish, squid, bivalves and holothurians. Sensitive to cold water (Ref. 9988), a mass die-off occurred in 1882, after which the species was rare for decades, presumably due to unusually cold water (Ref. 7251). Marketed fresh or frozen; can be steamed, pan-fried, broiled, microwaved and baked (Ref. 9988).
IUCN Red List Status: Endangered (EN); Date assessed: 29 January 2013 (A2bd) Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


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