Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Lophiiformes
(Anglerfishes) > Oneirodidae
Etymology: Oneirodes: Greek, 'oneiros' = a dream or dreamlike or out of a dream (suggesting this fish is so strange and marvelous that can exist only in dreams) (Ref. 86949). More on author: Regan.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Marine; bathypelagic; depth range ? - 1500 m (Ref. 58018). Deep-water
Northeast Atlantic: single records from off Madeira and the Irminger Sea.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 1.3 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 10524); 17.3 cm SL (female)
Morphology | Morphometrics
soft rays: 4. Characterized by having similar escal morphology with O.eschrichtii and O.bulbosus but differs in having a well-developed lateral escal appendage; absence of indentation on posterodorsal margin of subopercle; length of ventral fork of opercle 24.9-29.6% SL; ratio of lengths of dorsal and ventral forks of opercle 0.44-0.60; absence of epibranchial teeth; presence of teeth on pharyngobrachial II; upper jaw teeth 21-53; lower jaw teeth 26-54; teeth on vomer 5-8; dorsal fin rays 6-7; anal fin rays 4; pectoral fin rays 15-19; head length 38.2-43.6% SL; head depth 38.5-42.9% SL; premaxilla length 27.3-34.0% SL; length of lower jaw 43.2-50.6% SL; illicial length 20.8-30.8% SL (Ref. 86949).
Also mesopelagic (Ref. 10524).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Bertelsen, E., 1990. Oneirodidae. p. 498-507. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post, and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 1. (Ref. 10524)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 120744)
CITES (Ref. 115941)
Threat to humans
Common namesSynonymsMetabolismPredatorsEcotoxicologyReproductionMaturitySpawningSpawning aggregationFecundityEggsEgg development
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingMass conversion
Estimates of some properties based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969
): 0.9 - 11.2, mean 5 (based on 297 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805
= 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01000 (0.00244 - 0.04107), b=3.04 (2.81 - 3.27), in cm Total Length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref. 93245
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278
): 4.2 ±0.7 se; Based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref. 69278
): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153
): Moderate vulnerability (40 of 100) .