Idiacanthus fasciola

ribbon sawtail fish

SPECIES

1. KingdomAnimalia
2. PhylumChordata
3. ClassTeleostei
4. OrderStomiiformes
5. FamilyStomiidae

Habitatmarine

Observations recorded1,915

As with all members of the genus, Idiacanthus fasciola is an extremely sexually dimorphic species. Females are extremely elongate, snakelike, with a body depth approximately 2–6% of SL. The head is small, 5–10% of SL. The mouth large, about as long as the head. The upper and lower jaws are armed with barbed, fang-like teeth. The eye is small, on 1–3% of SL. The pectoral fin is absent; the pelvic fin is short and placed at about midbody. A Chin barbel is present, its length about twice the length of the head. The barbel's luminescent tip is laterally compressed and unpigmented. Numerous small photophores cover the head and body. The OA and IC photophores are numerous and closely spaced. The postorbital photophore is much smaller than eye. The skin is smooth, black, and scaleless. The Dorsal-fin origin is anterior to the midpoint of the body, well in advance of the anal-fin origin.

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