Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Aulopiformes
(Grinners) > Anotopteridae
Etymology: Anotopterus: Greek, a = without + Greek, noton = back + Greek, pteron = fin (Ref. 45335); nikparini: Named for Nikolai V. Parin.
Environment / Climate / Range
Marine; bathypelagic; depth range 0 - 2750 m (Ref. 31260), usually 0 - 700 m (Ref. 31260). Temperate
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 146 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 6885); max. published weight: 1.7 kg (Ref. 6885)
soft rays: 14 - 17;
Vertebrae: 78 - 80. Dark brownish, silvery ventrally; paired fins and caudal fin uniformly black. Body extremely elongate. Large adults with a pair of dermal keels midlaterally on each side. Small, flexible projection at tip of lower jaw. Gill membranes joined forward, below anterior edge of eye, and free from isthmus. No rayed dorsal fin. No scales (Ref. 43939). In adults, head depth 29-33% of lower jaw length. Postorbital area 8.1-9.7% SL or 34.4-38.8% (less than 3 times smaller than HL). Rear edge of gill cover overlaps with the vertical of the 5th vertebrae. Postadipose distance 7-8% SL (Ref. 31260).
North Pacific: Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska; south in Pacific waters to about 25°N, south of Baja California and Japan.
Found in a wide range of depths, sometimes near surface (Ref. 2850) to below 2,000 m. Larger adults inhabit colder water toward the poles, whereas, the young and smaller adults inhabit more temperate regions (Ref. 35956). Feed on mollusks, crustaceans, marine worms, coelenterates, salps, and fishes (Ref. 4525, 6885). Its distensible body wall and large stomach can accommodate prey up to half of its own length. Oviparous, with planktonic larvae (Ref. 35956). Preyed upon by albacore, Pacific lancetfish, halibut, steelhead salmon, blue shark, pomfret, and whales (Ref. 6885).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Kukuev, E.I., 1998. Systematics and distribution in the world ocean of daggertooth fishes of the genus Anotopterus (Anotopteridae, Aulopiformes). J. Ichthyol. 38(9):716-729. (Ref. 31260)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 96402)
CITES (Ref. 94142)
Threat to humans
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingMass conversion
Estimates of some properties based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805
= 0.7500 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278
): 4.5 ±0.5 se; Based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 69278
): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.5).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153
): Moderate vulnerability (43 of 100) .