Alligatorfish

The alligatorfish (Aspidophoroides monopterygius), also known commonly as the Aleutian alligatorfish and the Atlantic alligatorfish,[2] is a fish in the family Agonidae.[3] It was described by Marcus Elieser Bloch in 1786.[4] It is a marine, temperate water-dwelling fish which is known from the northwestern Atlantic Ocean, including western Greenland; Labrador, Canada; and Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA. It dwells at a depth range of 0–695 metres, most often around 60–150 m, and inhabits sand and mud bottoms mostly on the lower continental shelf all year. It prefers a temperature range of -1.07 to 2.52 °C. Males can reach a maximum total length of 22 centimetres, but more commonly reach a TL of 14.2 cm.[3]

Alligatorfish
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scorpaeniformes
Family: Agonidae
Genus: Aspidophoroides
Species:
A. monopterygius
Binomial name
Aspidophoroides monopterygius
(Bloch, 1786)
Synonyms[1]
  • Cottus monopterygius Bloch, 1786
  • Cottus indicus Bonnaterre, 1788
  • Aspidophoroides tranquebar Lacépède, 1801
  • Aspidophoroides groenlandicus Valenciennes, 1840
  • Aspidophoroides borealis Valenciennes, 1841
  • Aspidophoroides bartoni Gilbert, 1896

The Alligatorfish is preyed on by the Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) and the Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis).[5] Its own diet consists primarily of benthic crustaceans and bottom fauna.[6]

References
  1. Synonyms of Aspidophoroides monopterygius at www.fishbase.org.
  2. Common names for Aspidophoroides monopterygius at www.fishbase.org.
  3. Aspidophoroides monopterygius at www.fishbase.org.
  4. Bloch, M. E., 1786 [ref. 465] Naturgeschichte der ausländischen Fische. Berlin. v. 2: i-viii + 1-160, Pls. 145-180.
  5. Organisms preying on Aspidophoroides monopterygius at www.fishbase.org.
  6. Food items reported for Aspidophoroides monopterygius at www.fishbase.org.


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