Deep Sea Perch

Body oval, deep an remarkably compressed. Head large, about 3 times in standard length. Eye small, about 23% of head; no spines on opercular or post-temporal bones. Teeth minute, in bands; vomer toothless in large specimens. Enlarged scales in abdominal midline sometimes present, sometimes not. Lateral line with 31 scales enlarged, bearing a low spine. Dorsal fin with 5-6 spines and 15-18 soft rays. Anal fin with 3 spines and 10-12. Pectoral fin with 19-20. Gillrakers with 6 + 1 + 13-14. Colour dark orange, red on head and body; opercular membranes black; branchiostegals red outside, black inside; anus black; fins bright orange; membranes of spinous dorsal black; inside of buccal cavity black.

Western North Atlantic from the Gulf of Maine. Eastern Atlantic, from Ireland, Bay of Biskay, Azores to off the Cape of South Africa; Durban (Indian Ocean) and Pacific Ocean South of Australia, around New Zealand and Chilean waters.

About 70 cm; common 20-35 cm.

Bathypelagic species,from depths of 180 to 1.500 m, most abundant between 400 and 900 m.Feeds crustaceans and fish have found in the stomachs of various specimens. Practically nothing is known about the reproduction. A ripe female measuring 451 mm standard length has been taken in September off Rockland, Maine.

Not uncommon but so far none of the species considered important commercially but flesh highly esteemed. Caught incidentally in bottom trawls. The total catch reported for this species to FAO for 1999 was 36 636 t. The countries with the largest catches were New Zealand (23 780 t) and Australia (7 553 t).