Abstract
Bathysaurus agassizii was found to be a junior synonym of Bathysaurus ferox. The two valid species of the genus Bathysaurus, B. ferox and B. mollis, are circumglobal except beneath polar waters. Bathysaurus ferox is known mostly from depths of 1000 to 2500 m and temperatures of 4 to 3 °C; B. mollis is known mostly from 2500 to 4500 m and from 3.0 to 2.0 °C. In the Middle Atlantic Bight, the numerical density of B. ferox from trawl samples was 0–8 fish/25 × 103 m2; biomass was 0–8000 g for the same unit area. No clear "bigger–deeper" trend was evident for either species. Both species have been shown to be synchronous hermaphrodites. Mature gonads in B. ferox have been found in samples off Virginia from November through January; the mean fecundity found was 32 000 ova. Both species are predominantly piscivorous. A large, lipid-rich liver, probably an energy store, constituted up to 20% of the total weight in B. ferox and up to 5% in B. mollis. New records of pelagic postlarvae of both species have been reported. Postlarval development is probably gradual and prolonged, prior to a rapid transformation to the benthic juvenile stage. Postlarval development may occur in midwater within a few hundred metres of the surface.
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