''Stomias boa'', also known as the boa dragonfish, scaly dragonfish, dragon-boa or boa scaly dragonfish, is a species of deep-sea fish in the family

Stomiidae Stomiidae is a family of deep-sea ray-finned fish, including the barbeled dragonfishes. They are quite small, usually around 15 cm, up to 26 cm. These fish are apex predators and have enormous jaws filled with fang-like teeth. They are ...

. Three subspecies are recognised: * '' Stomias boa boa'' ( A. Risso, 1810) * '' Stomias boa colubrinus'' ( Garman, 1899) * '' Stomias boa ferox'' ( J. C. H. Reinhardt, 1842)

Description

''Stomias boa'' has an elongated body and small head; it is up to in length, black underneath and iridescent silver on its flanks, with a barbel that has a pale stem, dark spot at base of bulb and three blackish filaments. It has six rows of hexagonal areas above a lateral series of large

photophores A photophore is a glandular organ that appears as luminous spots on various marine animals, including fish and cephalopods. The organ can be simple, or as complex as the human eye; equipped with lenses, shutters, color filters and reflectors, h ...

. The

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal co ...

and

anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as s ...

s are opposite each other, just anterior to the

caudal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as s ...

Distribution and habitat

''Stomias boa'' is

mesopelagic The mesopelagic zone (Greek μέσον, middle), also known as the middle pelagic or twilight zone, is the part of the pelagic zone that lies between the photic epipelagic and the aphotic bathypelagic zones. It is defined by light, and begins a ...

and

bathypelagic The bathypelagic zone or bathyal zone (from Greek βαθύς (bathýs), deep) is the part of the open ocean that extends from a depth of below the ocean surface. It lies between the mesopelagic above, and the abyssopelagic below. The bathypelagic ...

, living at depths of in seas worldwide, particularly off the Atlantic coast of North America, in the Mediterranean and in a band 20°–45° S. ''S. boa ferox'' is concentrated in the North Atlantic. ''S. boa colubrinus'' is most common off the Congo coast and the northwest coast of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

Diet

''Stomias boa'' eats midwater fishes and

crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean gro ...

s; it rises to near the surface to feed at night.

Reproduction

''Stomias boa'' is oviparous; its

larvae A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. T ...

are in length.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3427078 Stomiidae Fish described in 1810 Taxa named by Antoine Risso