The alligatorfish (Aspidophoroides monopterygius), also known commonly as the Aleutian alligatorfish and the Atlantic alligatorfish,[2] is a fish in the family Agonidae.[3] It was described by Marcus Elieser Bloch in 1786.[4] It is a marine, temperate water-dwelling fish which is known from the northwestern Atlantic Ocean, including western Greenland; Labrador, Canada; and Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA. It dwells at a depth range of 0–695 metres, most often around 60–150 m, and inhabits sand and mud bottoms mostly on the lower continental shelf all year. It prefers a temperature range of -1.07 to 2.52 °C. Males can reach a maximum total length of 22 centimetres, but more commonly reach a TL of 14.2 cm.[3]
| Alligatorfish | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Agonidae |
| Genus: | Aspidophoroides |
| Species: | A. monopterygius
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| Binomial name | |
| Aspidophoroides monopterygius (Bloch, 1786)
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| Synonyms[1] | |
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The Alligatorfish is preyed on by the Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) and the Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis).[5] Its own diet consists primarily of benthic crustaceans and bottom fauna.[6]
References
edit- ^ Synonyms of Aspidophoroides monopterygius at www.fishbase.org.
- ^ Common names for Aspidophoroides monopterygius at www.fishbase.org.
- ^ a b Aspidophoroides monopterygius at www.fishbase.org.
- ^ Bloch, M. E., 1786 [ref. 465] Naturgeschichte der ausländischen Fische. Berlin. v. 2: i-viii + 1-160, Pls. 145–180.
- ^ Organisms preying on Aspidophoroides monopterygius at www.fishbase.org.
- ^ Food items reported for Aspidophoroides monopterygius at www.fishbase.org.
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