Relevant synonyms Beryx mollis Misidentification None Meristic formula D, IV+13-15; A, IV+25-30; P, 16-18; V, I+10-12; GR, 6-7+18-20  drawing : Tuvia Kurz

SHORT DESCRIPTION Body ovate, oblong, compressed with a deeply forked caudal fin. Eyes very large; eye diameter at least 1.5 times than snout and encircled by orbital crests. Supra and suborbital crests also present. Mouth large, oblique, with villiform teeth in bands on jaws, vomer and palatines. Two supramaxillae. Dorsal fin shorter than anal, their bases overlapped along the body length for a distance shorter than half dorsal fin basis. Scales finely ctenoid; their inner surface bears a small deciduous disk at rear edge. color : bright red with golden shades. size : common 25-35 cm (max. 55 cm) and 4 Kg. DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS Beryx decadactylus: body distinctly rounder and deeper (2.0 - 2.25 times in SL, versus 2.5 - 2.8 in B. splendens). Anal fin origin below middle of dorsal fin base (posteriorly located in B. splendens). BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY Feeds mainly on fish and crustaceans. Slow growth and life span of 20 years or more. habitat : deep waters (200 - 1000 m) on hard substrate of the continental slope.

1st MEDITERRANEAN RECORD Ligurian Sea, Western Mediterranean, 1995. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide : both sides of the Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Pacific from Australia, Japan, Hawaii and New Zealand. Mediterranean : only two specimens - one of them suspected* - have been recorded in the Ligurian Sea, Western Mediterranean (Orsi Relini et al., 1995). * Note: a presumed previous record was made by Gavagnin et al., (1992) from Cagnes sur Mer (France), but the specimen was not preserved for confirmation. ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Very rare. speculated reasons for success : - MODE OF INTRODUCTION Via Gibraltar. IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS None in the Mediterranean. Exploited in the Atlantic (Gulf of Biscay, Madeira and Cuba) and in the Indo-Pacific, where large captures are taken especially by Russian and Japanese fleets.

KEY REFERENCES Anibal J., Esteves E., Krug H. and de Silva H.M., 1998. Age and growth in the Alfonsino, Beryx splendens (Berycidae) from the Azores (central eastern Atlantic). Italian Journal of Zoology, 65 Supl.: 215-218. Gavagnin P., Garibaldi F., Orsi Relini L. and Palandri G., 1992. Cattura di un raro pesce bericiforme nelle acque profonde del Mar Ligure. Oebalia, 17-2 supplement: 57-60. Orsi Relini L., Palandri G., Garibaldi F. and Gavagnin P.F., 1995. First record of Beryx splendens (Osteichthyes, Berycidae) in the Mediterranean. Cybium, 19 (3): 317-319. FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

Last update of the species sheet: April 2002 ©ciesm 2002