Ritter-Zahony, 1909
Description
Body firm and broad, with large head that is much broader than the neck. Partially rayed long fins, beginning at the level of the ventral ganglion. A loose structured tissue layer present around the body in the region of the ventral ganglion. Alimentary diverticula absent. Gut usually reddish in colour. Eyes with triangular pigment spot. Hooks 8-14, brown in colour with strait tips, serrated in juveniles. Teeth 2-31.
Ovaries short and broad, with large ova and a large external opening in which remnants of a spermatophore or brood sac are often seen. Seminal vesicles large and ovoid, close to lateral fins and some distance from tail fin.
Size
Maximum body length 40 mm, relative tail length 22-27%.
Distribution in the North Sea
E. fowleri is absent from the shallow North Sea. The species is recorded from the northern entrance of the North Sea (S. Hay, pers. com.).
Depth range
Bathy- or mesopelagic oceanic species; found mainly below 700 m.
World distribution
Cosmopolitan.
[After Pierrot-Bults and Chidgey, 1988]