Nectoliparis pelagicus Gilbert & Burke 1912

Nectoliparis pelagicus Gilbert & Burke, 1912.

Tadpole Snailfish. To 6.5 cm (2.5 in) TL (Mecklenburg et al. 2002). Hokkaido, Japan (Nakabo in Nakabo 2002) and Sea of Okhotsk to Bering Sea (Mecklenburg et al. 2002) to San Diego (32°32’N, 117°24’W), southern California (Personal communication: Scripps Institution of Oceanography Fish Collection, La Jolla, California). Pelagic, usually taken in midwater depths (Mecklenburg et al. 2002); depth: 2 m (7 ft) or less in a beach seine (Miller et al. 1977) to 3,383 m (11,164 ft) in a trawl net (Stein 1978). However, the maximum reported depth of 3,383 m is actually the water depth from a sounding at Albatross dredging station 4785 (Bureau of Fisheries 1907), where one of the type specimens was caught. The net was not the usual beam trawl but an “intermediate 3” net which was fished at intermediate depths around 300 fathoms (549 m or 1,800 ft; Bureau of Fisheries 1907, Gilbert and Burke 1912). As with most fish species, there are few records for N. pelagicus from closing nets. Also observed in 541 m (1,775 ft) (Stein et al. 2006).