Short-tooth sawpalate | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Anguilliformes |
Family: | Serrivomeridae |
Genus: | Serrivomer |
Species: | S. lanceolatoides
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Binomial name | |
Serrivomer lanceolatoides (E.J.Schmidt, 1916)
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Synonyms[2] | |
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The short-tooth sawpalate (Serrivomer lanceolatoides, also known commonly as the black sawtoothed eel)[3] is an eel in the family Serrivomeridae (sawtooth eels).[4] It was described by Johannes Schmidt in 1916 in its larval form, originally under the genus Leptocephalus,[5] and later as a subspecies of Serrivomer sector by Roule & Bertin in 1929.[6] It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from the eastern central and western central Atlantic Ocean, including the Strait of Gibraltar, Cape Verde, the United States, the Bahamas and Bermuda,[1] as well as the Strait of Gibraltar, Cape Verde, Canada and the United States. It dwells at a depth range of 150 to 6,000 metres (490 to 19,690 ft). Males can reach a maximum total length of 65 centimetres (26 in).[4]
The species epithet "lanceolatoides" means "spear-like" in a combination of Latin and Greek, and refers to the eel's appearance.[4] The short-tooth sawpalate's diet consists primarily of benthic crustaceans.[7] It is reported to spawn between March and August in the Sargasso Sea.[8]
The IUCN redlist currently lists the short-tooth sawpalate as Least Concern, due to the unlikelihood of it being endangered by any major threats as a result of its deep water habitat, and its lack of commercial interest to fisheries.[1]