| Description: |
Genus Neoconger Girard, 1858 Neoconger Girard, 1858: 171. Type species Neoconger mucronatus Girard, 1858 by monotypy. Masculine. Chrinorhinus Howell Rivero, 1932. Type species Chrinorhinus torrei Howell Rivero, 1932 by monotypy. Masculine. Characters (after Smith 1989a). Body moderately elongate, cylindrical anteriorly, strongly compressed near end of tail; anus near midlength; tip of tail soft and blunt, caudal fin well developed and not stiffened. Dorsal and anal fins low and fleshy, confluent with caudal fin; dorsal fin begins over or somewhat anterior to level of anus; pectoral fin small but not rudimentary. Gill opening crescentic and transverse, on lower half of side, upper corner touching middle to upper edge of pectoral-fin base. Lateral line incomplete, ending near level of anus, pores increasing in number with growth, up to a point; head pores present only on lower jaw. Head conical and smoothly tapering anteriorly, tip of snout projecting slightly beyond lower jaw, rictus behind level of eye. Eye small, covered by transparent skin, larger in mature males. Anterior nostril on side of snout somewhat behind tip, without a tube in females and immatures, becoming tubular in mature males. Posterior nostril larger, immediately before eye, elongate in an anteroventral to posterodorsal direction, with a raised rim higher on anterior side, lower at posterodorsal corner. Upper lip continuous with skin of cheek; lower lip separated from skin of jaw by a slight groove. Tongue adnate. Stomach moderate in length, ending before anus. Gas bladder very small, thin-walled, near anus. Teeth small, smooth, pointed, recurved (Fig. 1). Maxillary and dentary teeth in one or two rows (usually one). Intermaxillary teeth somewhat larger, in two or three irregular rows, not separated from maxillary and vomerine teeth. Vomerine teeth in one or two rows, reaching almost to posterior end of maxillary row. Color gray or grayish brown with no spots, stripes, or other distinctive markings. Maximum size about 300 mm TL. Some sexual ... |