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Monomitopus ainonaka Girard, Carter & Johnson, 2023 Ai's cusk |
| Family: | Ophidiidae (Cusk-eels), subfamily: Neobythitinae | |||
| Max. size: | 13.5 cm SL (male/unsexed) | |||
| Environment: | bathydemersal; marine; depth range 768 - 796 m | |||
| Distribution: | East Central Pacific: Hawaii. | |||
| Diagnosis: | Dorsal soft rays (total): 105-105; Anal soft rays: 92-92; Vertebrae: 62-62. This species is distinguished by the following characters: weak, flap-like spines on preopercle; downward-sloped dorsal profile between eye and origin of the dorsal fin in adulta; differs from other species in the M. nigripinnis species group occurring in the Pacific by the numbers of dorsal-fin rays 105 (vs. 94-103 in M. garmani, 96-99 in M. malispinosus), anal-fin rays 92 (vs. 76-87 in M. garmani; 81-84 in M. malispinosus), pectoral-fin rays 35 (vs. 28-32 in M. garmani; 26-29 in M. malispinosus) and smaller ratio of eye diameter relative to head length 4-4 (vs. 4.6-5.6 in M. garmani; 4.6-4.9 in M. malispinosus) (Ref. 131527). | |||
| Biology: | ||||
| IUCN Red List Status: | Not Evaluated (N.E.) Ref. (130435) | |||
| Threat to humans: | harmless | |||