Scientific Name
Notacanthus abbotti  
Pronounce  
Notacanthus abbotti長吻背棘魚
by: Lab of Fish Ecol. and Evo., BRCAS
Author Fowler, 1934 Depth 250 - 1000M
Chinese 長吻背棘魚 Poisonous Fish No 
Family_Chinese 背棘魚科 Economic Fish No 
Family F073 Notacanthidae Edible Fish No  Chinese In Mainland China 長吻背棘魚 
Max Length 20 cm  Aquarium Fish No  Common Name 背棘魚 
Distribution in World Australia   Distribution in Taiwan North East 
Habitats Deep Sea  Holotype Locality Camp Overton Light, northern Mindanao, Philippines, Bohol Sea, western Pacific, Albatross station 5510, 8°16'00 
Synonyms Notacanthus abotti   
Reference Fishes of Japan(Nakabo, 2002);吳宗翰(2002)碩士論;McDowell, S. B. 1973. Order Heteromi (Notacanthiformes). In: Fishes of the Western North Atlantic. Memoirs of the Sears Foundation of Marine Research No. 1 (pt 6): 1-228;Yeh, H.-M., Lee, M.-Y., And K.-T. Shao. 2006. Three new records of Halosaurid fishes (Pisces: Halosauridae) from the deep waters adjacent to Taiwan. Journal of the Fisheries Society of Taiwan. V. 33(4):345-355.   Fowler, H. W. 1934 Fowler, H. W. 1934 Fowler, H. W. 1934 Carpenter, K. E. etc. 1999 Nakabo T. 2002 吳宗翰 2002 
Specimen List ASIZP0058555. ASIZP0059962. ASIZP0060735. ASIZP0060883. ASIZP0061045. ASIZP0061420. ASIZP0061477. ASIZP0062540. ASIZP0063080. ASIZP0063742. ASIZP0070582. ASIZP0070639. ASIZP0700350. ASIZP0805642. ASIZP0805643. ASIZP0805644. ASIZP0901374. CAS214454. CAS214655. NMMBP06210. NMMSTP01642. NTOU-AE6251. NTOU-AE6252. NTOU-AE6253.  
Common Name Deep-sea spiny eel 
Redlist Status NL Not in IUCN Redlist     
Characteristic Body moderately elongate; tail slender and tapering to a point, often broken and regenerated. Head moderately deep to moderately elongate, somewhat compressed. Eye well developed. Snout projects beyond mouth, tapering to a rounded tip. Mouth relatively small. Teeth small, pointed, in a single row on premaxilla. Dorsal fin with 12-13 unsegmented spines, isolated from each other and not connected by a membrane; anal fin long, extending from just behind anus to tip of tail, anterior rays spinous, with 17-22; pectoral fins well developed, located on midside, a short but distinct distance behind gill opening; pelvic fins abdominal, slightly in front of anus; caudal fin absent. Scales small and overlapping, covering most of head and body. Lateral line complete, on dorsal half of body anteriorly, becoming midlateral on tail; canals and scales not notably enlarged. Body white to light grey; lining of mouth and branchial chamber black; no distinct markings or patterns.
habitats Live on the bottom at depths of approximately 250-1,000 m. Feed on various small invertebrates, including crustaceans, echinoderms, polychaetes, bryozoans, and hydrozoans. The larva is a leptocephalus. 
Distribution Distributed western Pacific from Suruga Bay and the Kumanonada Sea in Japan to the Philippines. It is occasionally in northeastern Taiwanese waters. 
Utility No commercial value.