Echiodon dawsoni

Family	Scientific Name	Author	Year	Common Name
Carapidae	Echiodon dawsoni	Williams and Shipp	1982	Chain Pearlfish

Echiodon dawsoni

Unique Characters: Eel-like, moderate to shallow body depth. Translucent with dark spots on the side. Vertebrae dark. Anus located at throat. Anal fin very long, begins almost at throat. Pelvic fins absent. Scales absent. The first ray of the dorsal fin is well posterior to the first ray of the anal fin. The upper jaw has 1 or 2 pairs of large fangs and no small, heart-shaped teeth. Usually found free living and not associated with sea cucumbers (holothurians).

Similar Species: Pearlfish, Carapus bermudensis. Eel-like, moderate to shallow body depth. Translucent with dark spots on the side. Vertebrae dark. Anus located at throat. Anal fin very long, begins almost at throat. Pelvic fins absent. Scales absent. The first ray of the dorsal fin is well posterior to the first ray of the anal fin. The upper jaw lacks large fangs and there are many small, heart-shaped teeth. Found inside
the body cavity of sea cucumbers (holothurians).

Reference

FAO. 1999. Species catalogue. Volume 18. Ophidiiform fishes of the world (Order Ophidiiformes). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of pearlfishes, cusk-eels, brotulas and other ophidiiform fishes known to date. FAO Fisheries Synopsis. No. 125, Vol. 18. 178p., 136 figs. Rome, Italy.