View data on Catalog of Fishes here.
Loop of luminous tissue on side of body almost straight dorsally, forming irregular zig-zags ventrally, its posteriormost extent over pelvic fin insertions. Color of head and body black, except pale loop.
North Atlantic west of 45° W between about 15° and 32° N.
Meso- to bathypelagic
Gibbs RH, Jr. 1984. Melanostomiidae. In: Whitehead PJP, Bauchot M-L, Hureau J-C, Nielsen J, Tortonese E, editors. Fishes of the North-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Paris: UNESCO. p 341–365.
The following description applies to all three known species of Grammatostomias.
Body moderately elongate, its depth fewer than 10 time in SL. Head with tapering snout of moderate length; lower jaw not longer than upper jaw, not curved strongly upward; bargel slender, unpigmented, usually or always broken after being caught; reported to be 7 or more times longer than SL in one specimen; end of barbel presumed to be unmodified. Pectoral fin with 4–11 rays, the anterior rays with masses of luminous material near bases; pelvic fins low on body, their insertions close together near mid-ventral lin' bases of dorsal and anal fisn about eayal in lenth, their origin approximately opposed; no doral adipose fin. Photophores in ventral row between pectoral and pelvic-fin insertions (PV) 15–18; a pale loop or line present on flanks; postorbital photphore an elongate triangle, much smaller than, to slightly longer than eye diameter; no large patches of luminous material on head behind eye, but small spots or lines often present.
To more than 20 cm.
View original type description as PDF.
Irish Atlantic Slope off sw Ireland, 51°20'N, 11°56'W, depth 0–700 fathoms.
Holotype: BMNH 1910.9.17.2.
Grammatostomias flagellibarba is a species of barbeled dragonfish. They live at depths of up to 1,500 m (5,000 ft) below the surface and usually measure up to 15.2 cm (6 in) in length.[2]
The type specimen was caught in a shrimp trawl by the Helga on 12 November 1909 at 51° 20' N, 11° 56' W, southwest of Ireland. They were trawling over bottom 736 fathoms (4416 ft) deep, but "the net never touched bottom, and probably did not go deeper than 700 fathoms" (4200 ft).[3]
It is black and possesses a chin barbel that is about six times as long as the body, a large photophore behind and just below each eye, and two rows of very small photophores on each side of the body.[3]
It is found in the North Atlantic, specifically off southern Ireland and in the Bay of Biscay.[4]
Grammatostomias flagellibarba is a species of barbeled dragonfish. They live at depths of up to 1,500 m (5,000 ft) below the surface and usually measure up to 15.2 cm (6 in) in length.
