Relevant synonyms None Misidentification None Meristic formula D, I+8-9; P, I+13-16; V, I+9; LL anterior to anus, 59-98; GR, 11-14 * Note: the specific name is often spelled: "oweni".  drawing : Tuvia Kurz

SHORT DESCRIPTION Body elongated, eel like, compressed, with a thin pointed ending in place of the caudal fin. Head with pointed and depressed snout and inferior mouth. Dorsal fin short; anal fin very long; pelvic fins in an anterior position to the dorsal fin. Teeth minute; large cycloid scales; those of the lateral line slightly enlarged: top of the head, between eyes and nostril, scaled. color : pinkish, with silvery reflections, upper half darker. Lining of the mouth black with typical pale areas. size : common 45-57 cm. DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS Anguilliformes: dorsal fin with long base. No pelvic fin. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY Benthopelagic, feeding on benthic and nektonic prey, especially crustaceans. Adult male distinguished from female by size and colour of nostrils, which in the male are enlarged and darkly pigmented. Larval stage leptocephalus-like. habitat : along the continental slope, between 400 and 1600 m.

1st MEDITERRANEAN RECORD Off the Algerian coast, 1963. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide : both sides of the Atlantic, from Madera, the Azores and Canaries to Walvis Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea and the Antilles. Mediterranean : only two records, off Algerian in proximity of the Habibas Islands (Dieuzeide, 1963b) and South Sardinia (Cau and Deiana, 1979). ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Very rare. speculated reasons for success : MODE OF INTRODUCTION Via Gibraltar. IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS None.

KEY REFERENCES Cau A. and A.M. Deiana, 1979. Prima segnalazione di Halosaurus ovenii Johnson, 1863 nei mari italiani. Quad. Civ. Staz. Idrobiol., Milano, 7: 127-130. Dieuzeide R., 1963b. Halosaurus oweni Johnson rencontré pour la première fois en Méditerranée. Recueil des travaux de la Station marine d'endoume, 28 (43): 117-119. FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

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