Nezumia bairdii

Family	Scientific Name	Author	Year	Common Name
Macouridae	Nezumia bairdii	(Goode and Bean)	1877	Marlin Spike

All Nezumia Species: Anus surrounded by a broad margin of naked skin or far removed from anal fin. Branchiostegal rays 7. Teeth in lower jaw in a 2 or more rows or in a broad band. Fossa between bases of pelvic fins present or absent, not bean-shaped. Few or no scales on branchiostegal rays. Underside of snout usually with broad to narrow naked area above upper lip; snout with or without a tubercular scale at tip. Ridges of head with or without enlarged, coarsely spined scales. Total gill rakers on inner side of first arch 8-11, rarely 12. Leading edge of snout not distinctly marked in black.

Nezumia bairdii

Unique Characteristics: First dorsal fin with a prominent black membrane between serrated spinous ray and first branched ray. Pelvic-fin rays 7.

Similar Species:

Nezumia aequalis, Common Atlantic Grenadier

Common Atlantic Grenadier, Nezumia aequalis. First dorsal fin with a prominent black tip. Pelvic-fin rays usually 7-9, rarely 10.

Nezumia atlantica, West Atlantic Grenadier

West Atlantic Grenadier, Nezumia atlantica. First dorsal fin uniformly dusky or dark. Pelvic-fin rays 7-10. Snout bluntly rounded, narrow. Upper jaw long, 40-45% of head length.

Nezumia cyrano, Spinynose Grenadier

Spinynose Grenadier, Nezumia cyrano. First dorsal fin uniformly dusky or dark. Pelvic-fin rays 8-10, usually 9. Snout pointed, relatively broad across lateral angles. Upper jaw short, 20-32% of head length. Most of underside of head scaled, although median swath under snout often naked. Spinules on body scales broadly lanceolate to shield-shaped. Snout length 32-36%, chin barbel 6-8% head length.

Nezumia sclerorhynchus, Bluntsnout Grenadier

Bluntsnout Grenadier, Nezumia sclerorhynchus. First dorsal fin uniformly dusky or dark. Pelvic-fin rays 7-10, usually 9. Snout pointed, relatively broad across lateral angles. Upper jaw short, 20-32% of head length. Entire underside of snout, anterior part of suborbital below ridge, and most of lower jaw naked. Spinules on body scales needle-like, in parallel to slightly convergent rows, middle row often somewhat enlarged.

Nezumia suilla, Atlantic Darkfin Grenadier

Atlantic Darkfin Grenadier, Nezumia suilla. First dorsal fin uniformly dusky or dark. Pelvic-fin rays 7. Snout pointed, relatively broad across lateral angles. Upper jaw short, 20-32% of head length. Most of underside of head scaled, although median swath under snout often naked. Spinules on body scales broadly lanceolate to shield-shaped. Snout length 28-32%, chin barbel 8-21% head length.

Reference

FAO 1990. (Cohen, D.M., Inada, T., Iwamoto, T., and N. Scialabba. 1990. FAO species catalogue. Vol. 10. Gadiform fishes of the world. (Order Gadiformes). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of cods, hakes, grenadiers, and other gadiform fishes known to date. FAO Fisheries Synopsis No. 125, Volume 10. 442 pp.