Ventrifossa macroptera Okamura, 1982
Palau grenadier
photo by FAO

Family:  Macrouridae (Grenadiers or rattails)
Max. size:  40 cm TL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  bathydemersal; marine; depth range 454 - 710 m, non-migratory
Distribution:  Pacific Ocean: Kyushu-Palau Ridge, southern Japan, southwestern Taiwan, and the Hawaiian Islands.
Diagnosis:  Dorsal spines (total): 2-2; Anal spines: 0-0. Scales with slender, sharp spinules in arranged in widely divergent V rows or irregularly quincunx order. Snout with a black margin along its leading edge and posteriorly over half of supranarial ridges.
Biology:  Females with ripe eggs were taken in mid-December. Captured in fair numbers during exploratory fishing on the Kyushu-Palau Ridge, but not known from any other area.
IUCN Red List Status: Not Evaluated (N.E.) Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


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