Snake mackerel

For the snake mackerel family, see Gempylidae.

Snake mackerel
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scombriformes
Family: Gempylidae
Genus: Gempylus
Species:
G. serpens
Binomial name
Gempylus serpens
G. Cuvier, 1829
Synonyms
  • Gempylus notha (Bory de Saint-Vincent, 1804) (ambiguous name)
  • Acinacea notha Bory de Saint-Vincent, 1804 (ambiguous name)
  • Lemnisoma thyrsitoides Lesson, 1831
  • Gempylus coluber G. Cuvier, 1832
  • Gempylus ophidianus Poey, 1860

The snake mackerel (Gempylus serpens) is the sole species of fish in the monotypic genus Gempylus, belonging to the family Gempylidae (which is also referred to generally as "snake mackerels"). It is found worldwide in tropical and subtropical oceans between the latitudes of 42°N and 40°S; adults are known to stray into temperate waters. It is found to a depth of 600 meters (2,000 feet).[2] Populations of the snake mackerel from the Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific differ in vertebral count (51–55 versus 48–50) and number of first dorsal fin spines (30–32 versus 26–30), and so may represent separate species.[3]

  1. ^ Collette, B.; Smith-Vaniz, W.F.; Williams, J.T.; Pina Amargos, F.; Curtis, M.; Grijalba Bendeck, L. (2015). "Gempylus serpens". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T16509126A16510882. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T16509126A16510882.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Gempylus serpens". FishBase. March 2009 version.
  3. ^ Nakamura, I. & Parin, N.V. (1993). FAO Species Catalogue Vol. 15: Snake Mackerels and Cutlassfishes of the World. Rome: Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 92-5-103124-X.