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Notacanthiformes (Halosaurs and deep-sea spiny eels) >
Notacanthidae (Deep-sea spiny eels)
Etymology: Notacanthus: Greek, noton = back + Greek, akantha = thorn (Ref. 45335).
Eponymy: Johann Hieronymus Chemnitz (1730–1800) was a German naturalist, conchologist and theologian. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
More on author: Bloch.
Issue
Species spelling Paxton et al. 1989 (Ref.7300:150).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; benthopelagic; depth range 125 - 3285 m (Ref. 58426), usually 128 - 1000 m (Ref. 117245). Deep-water; 61°N - 50°S, 180°W - 180°E
Western North Atlantic: from Labrador to the Gulf of Mexico; Eastern North Atlantic from Iceland and Norway to North Africa (Ref. 130977). Possible in the eastern Indian Ocean: Australia (Ref. 7300) and southwest Pacific: New Zealand (Ref. 5755).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 120 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4449)
Benthopelagic (Ref. 58302) and epibenthic (Ref. 58426). Not uncommon in depths around 180 m off Iceland and Greenland. Individuals with nearly ripe eggs have been found in late autumn off Iceland. Mostly found at depths well below 200 m, but enters slightly shallower water on Grand Banks in Canada (Ref. 7251). Feeds primarily on sea anemones (Ref. 4449).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Sulak, K.J., 1990. Notacanthidae. p. 133-135. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 1. (Ref. 4449)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: of no interest
Tools
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 1 - 14.9, mean 6.1 °C (based on 2531 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5039 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00186 (0.00100 - 0.00347), b=3.07 (2.90 - 3.24), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.5 ±0.37 se; based on food items.
Generation time: 27.5 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 2
growth studies.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Assuming tmax>10).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): High to very high vulnerability (69 of 100).
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Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 9.83 [5.11, 21.37] mg/100g; Iron = 0.259 [0.129, 0.528] mg/100g; Protein = 16.1 [14.9, 17.3] %; Omega3 = 0.274 [0.129, 0.578] g/100g; Selenium = 39.1 [14.6, 106.8] μg/100g; VitaminA = 9.64 [1.93, 48.64] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.376 [0.235, 0.610] mg/100g (wet weight);