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Coastal habitat evidences and biological data of Alepisaurus ferox (Aulopiform; Alepisauridae) from northwestern Iberian Peninsula

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Abstract

Several specimens of Alepisaurus ferox Lowe, 1833 were caught in the coastal Galician waters (Northwest Spain). From two preserved specimens, morphometric and meristic parameters, along with DNA barcoding, confirmed the identification of the specimens. Examination of the stomach contents revealed a diverse diet with up to 13 different preys with only three species in common (swimming crab, salps and the hyperiid amphipod pram shrimp). It is the first time that gadid fishes Micromesistius poutassou (Risso, 1827) and Trisopterus luscus (Linnaeus, 1758), crustaceans Polybius henslowi Leach, 1820 [in Leach, 1815–1875] and Pasiphaea sivado (Risso, 1816), and parasitic nematodes of the genus Anisakis Dujardin, 1845 are reported in the stomach of this species. Histological examination of the gonads showed a simultaneous hermaphrodite strategy, with both ovary and testis in immature phase in the same gonad, but well differentiated. These results contribute to a better knowledge of this pelagic and mainly offshore fish species in coastal areas.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Elia López (IIM-CSIC) for their extensive laboratory work and to Declan Quigley for his help with the bibliographic search. Also thanks to the anonymous referees for their advice, corrections and comments on the manuscript.

Funding

Alejandro de Carlos research was funded in part by a grant from the Xunta de Galicia’s program for consolidation and structuring of competitive research units (code ED431C 2019/28).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Servizo de Planificación, Consellería do Mar, Xunta de Galicia, Rúa dos Irmandiños s/n, 15701, Santiago de Compostela, Spain

    Rafael Bañón

  2. Grupo de Estudos do Medio Mariño (GEMM), Edif. Club Naútico bajo, 15960, Ribeira, Spain

    Rafael Bañón

  3. Octolarvae S.L. - Grupo Profand, Avda. García Barbón 62, Bloque 1, Entreplanta, 36201, Vigo, Spain

    Álvaro Roura

  4. Asociation Ecoloxía Azul, Pontevedra, Spain

    Álvaro Roura & Alexandre Alonso-Fernández

  5. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, IIM-CSIC, c/ Eduardo Cabello 6, 36208 Vigo, Pontevedra, Spain

    Cristina García-Fernández & Alexandre Alonso-Fernández

  6. Departamento de Bioquímica, Xenética e Inmunoloxía, Facultade de Bioloxía, Universidade de Vigo, Campus Universitario Lagoas-Marcosende s/n, 36310, Vigo, Spain

    Alejandro de Carlos

Authors
  1. Rafael Bañón
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  2. Álvaro Roura
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  3. Cristina García-Fernández
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  4. Alexandre Alonso-Fernández
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  5. Alejandro de Carlos
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Contributions

RB conceived the study and conducted morphological analyses, AR conducted feeding analyses, CGF and AAF conducted reproductive analyses, ADC conducted molecular analyses, and all authors drafted and critically reviewed the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rafael Bañón.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethical approval

No animal testing was performed during this study.

Sampling and field studies

The study does not contain sampling material or data from field studies.

Data availability

The datasets generated during the current study are deposited in public databases (NCBI GenBank, Barcode of Life Data System and Museo Luis Iglesias de Ciencias Naturais in Santiago de Compostela, Spain).

Additional information

Communicated by S. E. Lluch-Cota

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Bañón, R., Roura, Á., García-Fernández, C. et al. Coastal habitat evidences and biological data of Alepisaurus ferox (Aulopiform; Alepisauridae) from northwestern Iberian Peninsula. Mar. Biodivers. 52, 22 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-022-01261-9

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