Nemichthys scolopaceus Richardson, 1848

Description: body extremely long, anus below pectoral fins. Anterior nostril non-tubular in unripe specimens. Upper jaw slightly longer than lower jaw; tip of jaws pointed. Teeth relatively small, posteriorly directed. Dorsal, caudal and anal fins confluent; basal portion of dorsal finrays at midbody strong and spine-like. Post-orbital pores 3-20 (mean 10.7), often arranged in an irregular row; preopercular pores 2-18 (mean 7.2). Lateral line complete, rectangle formed by lateral line pores in each segment near tip of pectoral fins slightly higher than long. Larvae greater than 100 mm TL with 240-260 preanal myomeres.

Color: body more or less pigmented, or upper part a little lighter, but no black spots as patch on belly, and without black bars between vertebrae.

Size: to 1,300 mm, usually less.

Habitat: oceanic, captured pelagically from surface down to 2,000 m.

Food: probably exclusively crustaceans.

Reproduction: strong sexual dimorphism, oviparous, leptocephalus larva well known, described by Roule and Berlin (1929) as Leptocephalus A.