Hoplostethus melanopus (Weber, 1913)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The smallscale slimehead (Hoplostethus melanopus) is a deepwater fish of the family Trachichthyidae. It lives on the continental shelf at a depths of 400–914 m (1,312–2,999 ft). It can reach sizes of up to 25.0 cm (9.8 in) TL. It is a brownish-grey color with blackish fins. It is found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans along the coasts of South Africa, Somalia, the United Arab Emirates, Madagascar, Japan, Indonesia, and Namibia.
Wikipedia contributors, Smallscale slimehead; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:50:01.902625+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Hoplostethus melanopus (Weber, 1913)
- Name authority
- (Weber, 1913)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Trachichthyiformes
- Family
- Trachichthyidae
- Genus
- Hoplostethus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderTrachichthyiformes
- familyTrachichthyidae Bleeker, 1856
- genusHoplostethus Cuvier, 1829
- speciesHoplostethus melanopus (Weber, 1913)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Hoplostethus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| deep sea perchHoplostethus atlanticus Collett, 1889 | TrachichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hoplostethus confinis Kotlyar, 1980 | TrachichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Thickspine roughyHoplostethus crassispinus Kotlyar, 1980 | TrachichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hoplostethus druzhinini Kotlyar, 1986 | TrachichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hoplostethus fedorovi Kotlyar, 1986 | TrachichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hoplostethus gigas McCulloch, 1914 | TrachichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hoplostethus grandperrini Roberts & Gomon, 2012 | TrachichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hoplostethus latus McCulloch, 1914 | TrachichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hoplostethus melanopterus Fowler, 1938 | TrachichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hoplostethus metallicus Fowler, 1938 | TrachichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Atlantic roughyHoplostethus occidentalis Woods, 1973 | TrachichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hoplostethus rifti Kotlyar, 1986 | TrachichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Hoplostethus natalensis Kotlyar, 1978 Kotlyar, 1978 | synonym |
| Leiogaster melanopus Weber, 1913 Weber, 1913 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=217893 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3MN7W. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.