Species: Centrodraco acanthopoma, North Atlantic Slope Dragonet

Centrodraco acanthopoma (Regan, 1904)

North Atlantic Slope Dragonet

Body elongate, rounded; head large; snout pointed; eyes very large (11.4-15.2% SL); top jaw projecting, protractile, reaches under front edge of eye; teeth in jaws small, slender, fine, in narrow bands; preopercle without a spine; opercle and subopercle each with a strong, simple, back-pointing spine; gill opening wide, extends along base of pectoral; two dorsal fins, III (stout, strong, sharp, spine II longest in male) + 14 (13-15) (the last ray divided at its base); anal fin with long base, 0, 13 (the last ray divided at its base), rays without filaments, pectoral fin large, pointed, 25-26; pelvic fin I, 5, long, pointed, extends past anal fin origin; caudal fin truncate; lateral line present, grooved, in two separate parts that overlap under 2nd dorsal fin; scales absent.

Pinkish, with 3 broad irregular whitish bars: behind pectoral base, at mid-body and at end of tail base; top of eyeball white; fins mainly white: 1st dorsal white, with a dark blotch at its base; 2nd dorsal whitish, with an outer series of dark spots in male; anal fin white; tail fin white, occasionally with a dark blotch at its base; pelvics with white rays; pectorals with a white base and lower rays white.

Reaches 14 cm.

On muddy bottoms

Depth range 150-594 m.

North Atlantic; Massachusetts to the southern Caribbean.