Aspects of the ecology and life history of Alligatorfish <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aspidophoroides monopterygius</Emphasis>

The Alligatorfish (Aspidophoroides monopterygius) is one of numerous non-commercial marine fishes for which basic elements of life history and biology are poorly known. More than 200 individuals were collected from the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada, in September 2000 and 2001, during fisheries-independent surveys. The standard length of Alligatorfish averaged 10.9 cm in 2000 and 9.2 cm in 2001, and putative age ranged between 2 and 7 years. Males possessed significantly longer pelvic fins, relative to body size, than females. We hypothesize that Alligatorfish undergo internal gametic association and that spawning takes place in mid- to late-autumn. Diet was comprised primarily of amphipods and isopods; other diet items included euphausiids, mysids, copepods, pteropods and calcareous algae. Based on analysis of individuals collected in 2000, 6.8% were affected by parasites (nematodes). Our research on the life history and ecology of Alligatorfish contributes to our knowledge of the biodiversity of Canada’s sub-Arctic marine fish fauna.