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Aspects of the biology of Hoplostethus atlanticus and H. mediterraneus (Pisces: Berycomorphi) from the slopes of the rockall Trough and the Porcupine Sea Bight (north-eastern Atlantic)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2009

J. D. M. Gordon  and
J. A. R. Duncan
J. D. M. Gordon
Affiliation:
Scottish Marine Biological Association, Dunstaffnage Marine Research Laboratory, P.O. Box 3, Oban, Argyll PA34 4AD
J. A. R. Duncan
Affiliation:
Scottish Marine Biological Association, Dunstaffnage Marine Research Laboratory, P.O. Box 3, Oban, Argyll PA34 4AD
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Abstract

Two berycomorph fishes, Hoplostethus atlanticus and H. mediterraneus, were captured by bottom trawls on the continental slopes to the west of the British Isles. H. atlanticus was seldom abundant and was distributed at a depth of about 1250 m both in the Rockall Trough and the Porcupine Sea Bight. H. mediterraneus was only present in the Porcupine Sea Bight and was moderately abundant at depths of about 750 m. Few juveniles of either species were captured and there was no evidence to suggest that H. atlanticus spawned in the area. Seasonal changes in the gonosomatic index of H. mediterraneus indicate that spawning occurs in the autumn and that the environmental conditions at this northern limit of its distribution may be unsuitable for larval or juvenile survival. Juvenile H. mediterraneus were relatively abundant in bottom trawls off West Africa. The diets of both species were broadly similar in that they preyed primarily on benthopelagic organisms, especially mysids, decapods, fish and cephalopods.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 67 , Issue 1 , February 1987 , pp. 119 - 133
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1987

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