Bluntsnout smooth-head

Bluntsnout smooth-head
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Osmeriformes
Family:	Alepocephalidae
Genus:	Xenodermichthys
Species:	X. copei
Binomial name
Xenodermichthys copei (Gill, 1884)

The bluntsnout smooth-head, black slickhead, cope's bluntsnout smooth-head, or Atlantic gymnast, Xenodermichthys copei, is a slickhead of the genus Xenodermichthys, found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans, and the Tasman Sea, at depths of 100 to 2,600 m. Its length is from 20 to 50 cm.

The bluntsnout smooth-head is a soft-rayed deepwater species, with dorsal and anal fins similar in shape and size and set back toward the deeply forked tail. The mouth is only moderately sized and has minute teeth, indicating a diet of small planktonic animals. On lower parts of the fish there are a number of irregularly spaced photophores.

The bluntsnout smooth-head is a deep violet-tinged black with pale fins and violet eyes.

References

• "Xenodermichthys copei". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. 18 April. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
• Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2006). "Xenodermichthys copei" in FishBase. January 2006 version.
• Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand, (William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1982) ISBN 0-00-216987-8